Just like his dad
by Samthebear
Summary: MaiXNaru. 7 years ago Mai left SPR with no reason nor contact number what happened? And why is Kenji suddenly having the dreams she used to have?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is my very first ghost Hunt fic so be nice k? I got this idea from **storyteller-ryu** and from reading a suggestion in the reviews so that's pretty much how this came to be… and umm enjoy, and

**DISCLAMER:** I don't own Ghost Hunt or any of its characters with the exception of Kenji

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"Mum! Mum! Hurry already! I'm going to be late!!" A seven-year-old boy yells out beckoning a young lady to come quickly. The lady sighs, shakes her head and runs up to her son.

"Come here you!" She takes his hand in hers and pulls him closer.

"I'm not a baby any more mum." He says solemnly with wide eyes of childish innocence. His mother could not help but break out into a wide smile and laugh. Ruffling his black hair she says,

"Hmm well how ever old you are, you'll always be my little baby."

"Mumm!!" The boy groans and pulls his hand out of his mother's instead pulling her forward by her arm.

"Calm down Kenji! School won't start until eight thirty, it's only eight. We'll get there in plenty of time." She slows down and her son fidgets beside her.

"Mummm…" He whines pulling a pained face.

"Alright! Alright! We're going, we're going." She takes her son's hand again and walks faster. She looks down at her son and he is all smiles, excited on the first day of school. She smiles to herself remembering fond memories. He looks up at her and grins pulling her forward.

But deep inside her heart she worries. Children can be so very cruel… What will they do when they find out Kenji doesn't have a dad?

"Mum, what are you thinking about?" The little seven year old asks her with such a painful perception she is instantly reminded of his father. The only one she has ever loved. _He doesn't even know about Kenji_. She puts on a false smile and says cheerfully to him.

"Just thinking about what wonderful adventures you are going to have today. You're all grown up now!" She squeezes his hand tight and he returns the gesture.

At the school she takes him up to the administration office to get his timetable and to find out where his classroom is.

"Hello, I'm here with Taniyama Kenji?" The receptionist looks up and takes the registration paper from her. She takes a glance at the paper and smiles before leaning over the counter to look at Kenji.

"Hello Kenji!" The receptionist smiles and to his mother she asks, "And you are his sister?"

"Oh no, I'm his mother." Disapproval shadows the receptionist's brow before it dissipated into nothing. But she knew what people would think of her if she told them she was the mother. She knew and she was prepared. Why should she be ashamed about her son?

"These are his papers, and his timetable is in there as well as his classes." She looks down and smiles at Kenji "Have a good day today Kenji Kun!" Kenji stealthy reaches around his mother's legs and holds on tight onto her skirt hiding half of him behind her. His mother smiles at him and dislodges his little fits taking his hand into hers.

"Thank you for your help." She bows briefly before walking out of the office with Kenji.

"Ahhh, what happened to all your courage Kenji?" she asks her son teasingly.

"That lady… She doesn't like me…" Oh lord, will her son be like this through out school? If he can pick up things like that how will he feel when it gets really bad? Her heart hurt for her son. And at the same time an anger or sorts is rushing through her veins.

"I'm sure she likes you Kenji! You're the most handsome boy in the whole world!" She gives him a wink and whispers to him, "but don't tell anyone I said that! OK?"

"It OK mum. I'm alright." He smiles at her and gives her a hug. But he was a truly unique individual. He had black hair and when he was born many commented on such a remarkable dark blue colour his eyes were, they were so dark blue they were almost pitch black but the blue made it look like it was the night sky with no stars or moon. His cheerful disposition is the only thing that he had in common with his mother. He looked almost exactly like his father.

She brought him to his classroom and squatted down so she was looking him in the eye. She closes her eyes for a moment, feeling proud of her precious son – yet at the same time worrying so much she could feel the hole in her stomach.

"Be a good boy Kenji. Listen to the teacher well OK?" She pulls him in for a tight hug blinking away the moisture building up in her eyes. She can cry later, for now she has to be strong for her son.

"No matter what they say, be strong Kenji! You're so special and wonderful, don't let anyone make you think other wise! Now have a good day and I'll come and pick you up at three at the front gates OK? When you're there, don't talk to strangers or follow them home OK? You MUST wait for me. if I'm not there go to the office we just went to and wait for me there. Promise me Kenji." She says fiercely. His little arms wraps around her neck and he says,

"I promise mum, I'll wait for you and I won't talk to strangers and I won't follow them home and wait for you in the office if you aren't there. Even though the lady there doesn't like me…" He added in sneakily saying it quickly and in a whisper. She laughs and lets him go, she kisses his cheek and says,

"I love you, now have a good day Kenji!" He returns the kiss and says

"Love you too mum. I will! You have a good day too mum!" She knocks on the classroom door and a teacher opens the door.

"Hello, You must be his mother, and you" she looks down on Kenji, "Must be Kenji Kun. Welcome to class!" To his mother she asks, "Would you like to sit in for today's class?" she gives his teacher an apologetic look and says,

"I would love to but I can't. I have to head to work now, I only got the morning off." The teacher smiles back and says,

"That's alright then, I am Ms. Kei it's nice meeting you Ms. Taniyama." She smiles at the teacher and says good-bye to her and her son.

"Bye mum!!" she turns back to see her son energetically waving her off. She smiles to her son and waves back. This teacher will have a lot to handle this year. She thought, smiling at the wave her son gave her.

----

Work isn't that terrible she had decided. She had gotten some impressive references from her previous bosses but there would be one she can never openly think about without feeling a tight pain in her chest and something that felt vaguely like regret settling in her stomach. To forget about him just momentarily she would absorb herself in work, when Kenji was younger she would throw herself into the care for him and now it was work. When Kenji no longer demanded her attention everyday and night she found other things to occupy her.

She worked through lunch and when two thirty came she knocked on her boss's door to tell him she was leaving early to pick her son up from school.

She arrives at his school twenty minutes early and so decides to get some coffee from a near by vending machine. She opens the can and takes a seat on a bench across the school. She drinks some of the coffee and for a while she does nothing but stare into the can breathing in the smell of instant coffee. Nothing like the stuff she used to brew _there_. He loved tea. A prickle of sadness permeates her bones and she blocks him out of her mind. The school bell rings and in a few moments, floods of children from the middle and primary school flood out the gates. She throws the half drunk can of coffee into a near by trash can and walks quickly to the school gates looking for Kenji. She finds him waving goodbye to several students, when he turns around he runs right up to her.

"Hi mum!" He's bubbling over with enthusiasm and joy, and she felt as though some of it overspilt onto her.

"Hi Kenji, how was school?" She takes his bag from him.

"It was GREAT mum! Ms. Kei is really nice to us and I've made some friends!"

"Wow, sounds like fun Kenji. What are you friends names?"

"Toshi sits next to me and he has a sister who is in the middle school! Rin Rin is a really nice girl too, but she didn't talk to any of the girls she only talked to the boys!"

"Well they sound like nice people." He nods vigorously.

"They are!"

"Well then Mr. Popular, what would you like for dinner tonight? Do you want to eat out or do you want me to cook you something?"

"Mum, could you cook tonight?" He asks leaning closer to his mum.

"Sure! I'll cook all your favourite things tonight! OK?" He nods happily,

"Mmm! OK!"

All through the journey home Kenji talked non-stop about his day and his mother felt a warm glow letting his happy world wash over her. She knew it would end one day, but she still reverently pray and wish that it would never end.

They returned to their humble two roomed home and while she prepared dinner he happily chatted away next to her.

"Oohhh… That smells yummy!" His eyes went wide when he saw what his mother was cooking.

"Yep, and its all for you!"

"You can have some too mum."

"My what a generous man you will be!" She ruffles his hair and asks him to set the table.

"Go set the table will you?"

"OK!" he pulls out the cutlery drawer and on tiptoes collects two pairs of chopsticks and two spoons. She sets the dishes on the table carefully and returns to the kitchen with Kenji next to her to collect the rice. She scoops out his rice and hands him his bowl before scooping her own proportion.

By the time she got to the table he was already there waiting for her to sit down. She places her bowl of rice on the table and takes a seat.

"Lets eat!" He starts chomping away at his food enthusiastically. She smiles happily at him and starts eating, not quite as fast or furious but still enjoying the food and his company.

That night, as she put him to bed she suddenly thought about his dad. It was so unexpected, he had just came into mind and surprisingly it didn't hurt quite as much as before.

"Good night Kenji. I'll see you in the morning." She kisses him on his cheek and tucked his covers in a little tighter.

"Good night mum…" He let out a loud yawn and settles into his bed. She turns off his bedside lamp and leaves his room leaving his door slightly ajar if he needed her in the night.

---

Sometime during the night, Kenji comes into his mum's room and snuggles under the blankets with her.

"Hmm… Kenji… What's wrong?" She asks him half-asleep.

"I had a nightmare." He whispers back to her. "Can I sleep with you tonight?" she put a comforting arm around her son and says,

"Hmm… yeah, sure… Go to sleep now…"

* * *

A/N: How was it? hope it wasn't too OOC . leave a review k? thanks! 


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: thanks to everyone who reviewed! I decided to post a second chapter today since I got a few good responses to my story, sorry if this is a little short . but enjoy anyways!

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Chapter 2

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"Mai…" 

_Huh…? Where am I?_

"_Mai…" Who is calling for me? There is such a bright light… Someone is there… the person is walking towards me… I can see their outline now…_

"_Mai… I've been looking for you… for so long…" the person is reaching out and I am too… The light is blocked out for a moment and I can see his face._

_Naru. My hand drops instantly._

* * *

"NARU!" My eyes instantly snap open and I am wide-awake. Kenji is sleeping next to me and I've woken him. 

"Mum…?" My heart is still jumping up and down erratically but I try my best to stop it from beating so hard.

"Nothing Kenji… Nothing… I just had a nightmare too… Go back to sleep I'll wake you up later." I smooth his hair away from his forehead and kiss him before getting out of bed and covering him with the blanket again. It's only six AM and the skies are still dark. The colour of Kenji's eyes. The colour of _his_ eyes. Those beautiful, perceptive eyes… I can still remember the dream. I feel as though it's been branded into my mind's eye. When I close my eyes I can see his face again. That face I have not seen for seven years. That beautiful face that belonged to my only love.

I go into the kitchen and make myself something to eat; it's more of something to keep me occupied but it has become a habit.

I haven't have had a dream like that in seven years. Not once when I was with Kenji did I have a dream like that. My hands are shaking and I put down the bottle of sugar before I drop it. Why now? I rest my hands on the kitchen sink to get some balance back. I'm happy.

Are you? 

I'm happy to be with Kenji. I'm happy that he's happy. As long as my baby is happy I will be too. But that dream is really disturbing me. I go about preparing Kenji's breakfast and lunch, by the time I finish it's seven.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: wooo!!! another chapter!! 3 in a day!! wheee!! Enjoy everyone!!

Chapter 3

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"Kenji…" I say gently shaking him.

"Hmmm…" He rolls over on his stomach and I roll him back over.

"Time to get up, breakfast is ready." He opens his eyes sleepily and complains half-heartedly.

"Already? Can I sleep a little more?"

"Yes already, come on get up." I pull the blankets off him and he slowly sits up rubbing his eyes.

"I had a nightmare." He says solemnly as he climbs out of bed.

"What was it about Kenji?" I ask him while making the bed.

"There was these things floating around and it felt scary…" I still the moment he said '_things floating_'.

"Really Kenji? And what happened?" I try to keep the quiver out of my voice as I resume making the bed as if nothing happened.

"There was a man there, he was telling me something about these things… I can't remember what he said but I think they were called will-o-wisps..? Mum, what are will-o-wisps?" Will-o-wisps? A man? I pale and drop the blankets.

"Honey, what did the man look like?" I ask trying as hard as I can to keep my voice from wavering.

"He was tall, and he had black hair. His skin is really pale too. Mum, mum?" I can feel Kenji tugging on my arm but I'm not registering it.

_Pale, black hair, tall_…

I sit on the bed staring past Kenji. It can't be him… No. I refuse to believe that. Oh God, why? Why Kenji?

"Mum! Mum!!" I snap out of my daze to find my son very worried.

"Oh… Kenji, don't worry about mum go have your breakfast. It's in the kitchen; I'll just be making the bed here… Come on be a good boy and listen to mum." I push him gently towards the door; he gives me a worried glance before obediently going out for his breakfast.

I watch him leave the room and after he leaves I hug a pillow tightly curling my legs beneath me. I bite down on my lip and think hard. What does this mean, now that Kenji is having these dreams? He's too young to deal with these dreams… I want to protect him so much but there's just something I can't do… I can't follow him in his dreams to hold his hand and tell him everything is going to be alright…

_But he always did… Follow me and comfort me…_

I dash away the tears that leaked out and dry my eyes on the pillow. It'll be OK, Kenji will do fine. I pull myself together and finish making the bed before going to the kitchen to face Kenji.

"Hey honey," I swallow some more to keep my voice clear. "Finished your breakfast?"

"Yup!" He collects his plates and deposits them into the sink, he turns to me and asks, "Have you eaten yet mum?" I smile tiredly at him and say,

"Not yet honey, mum is just tired I'll eat later OK?" He nods slowly and walks up to me holding out his arms telling me he wants to be carried.

"Oh gosh Kenji, you're such a big boy now and you still want me to carry you?"

"Just a little while?" He pleads with me; I pick him up and carry him rocking him the way I used to when he was a baby. I already knew I would carry him but I just said that for the sake of saying it. I kiss his cheek and sit down with him still in my arms. He wraps his small arms around my neck and says into my shoulder,

"You can cry mum, you don't have to keep it in so tight just because of me." He kisses my check and a tear rolls quietly out. His little fingers wipe away my tears; just letting them flow out feels so good. I kiss his cheek and stroke his hair breathing in my baby's smell.

"I love you so much Kenji… I just don't want you to get hurt. Do you understand?" I lean back and brush his hair away from his face. "Come on Kenji, I have to clean up and we'll go to school OK?" I set him down next to me, I look down at him and say, "You should get ready for school too Kenji, go brush your teeth and get changed."

"OK." He jumps off the couch and heads for the kitchen sink to brush his teeth. Bless him; he knew I was going to use the bathroom so he went to use the sink to brush his teeth instead.

I wash my face not bothering to take a shower this morning I'll have one when I get back home today. I quickly change into my work clothes consisting of a plain black suit and a white blouse. Kenji is already waiting for me with his bag all packed near the front door.

"Come on Kenji, lets go." I pick up my brief case open the door and walk out with Kenji just behind me. When I turn around to lock the door he is already by my side.

---

_Mai…? That's Mai… Why is she here? Everything around me is warping and she is the only thing that is solid… She looks different… She's older… She isn't happy… Her eyes, they're empty…_

"_Mai!" I am desperately trying to reach her but no matter how much I run I'm not getting any closer… she seems to be further from me now…_

"_MAI!" She turns her head and smiles an empty smile._

---

I jerk awake with a start. I see Lin standing at my door holding a thick envelope.

"What is it Lin?" I ask trying to clear my head of the dream.

"We got another request today, it was sent by mail."

"Let me see." I hold out my hand to take the envelope from him, I peel the seal open and pull out the sheaf of papers, studying them quickly. I look up and Lin is still there.

"What do you want Lin?"

"Would you like some tea Naru?" Tea… I sigh inwardly.

"No, I'll be fine." I return to the papers the words swimming in front of my eyes. I can't think now. There is just too much that reminds me of her. Every time I think of her I can't think of anything else _but_ her. I actually feel physical pain whenever I think of her, feels like a hole is boring through my body. But once it starts it won't stop till it's satisfied. I push my chair back letting the papers drop onto the table. I open my door and head into the kitchenette where Lin is brewing some tea.

"Would you like some tea now Naru?"

"No Lin." I say exasperated, "I'm just telling you that I'll be out for a while. If anything comes up just give me a call." I turn away to get my coat but Lin asks me quietly,

"Do you know when you'll be back?"

"No."

"She left today." Lin observes quietly.

"I know that." I snap. But it doesn't matter. Every day seems to be the day she left for me. I snatch up my coat from the coat hanger and slam the front door shut loudly.

---

There is something about today… Something that is nagging at the back of my head. It's been there since I dropped Kenji off at school. I stare at my calendar when I'm at working trying to work out what was so important about today. There's nothing important about today… Just another day…

"Taniyama San." Someone drops a pile of papers next to me and I jump in surprise.

"Yes?" I ask looking up. It was my boss and he doesn't look too happy.

"Get this done by twelve, and stop day dreaming!"

"Yes sir! I'm so sorry!" I gather the papers together and start typing the work with all the amendments. While typing I glance at the date on the top of all the amended work and suddenly I remember.

It was the day I left. I stop typing, after all these years I'm finally able to slowly forget that I ever had a past there. I take in a deep breath. That's over and done with now. All I can do is look to the future and hope for better things.

I push all thoughts of the past way from my mind and continue working.

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A/N: I know short chapters, I'm sorry but I seem to be able to update more often with short chapters I tried doing the long chapters thing but at the moment it just isn't possible, I've got too much work to focus all my time and energy into a fantastically long chapter and so now my Ouran fic is on hold until I can get some time where I don't have to worry about assignments or due dates or home work. To my Ouran readers – I WILL finish it but it doesn't seem to be any time soon T.T I'm so sorry!! 

Please leave a review too!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: since i got a few people asking me to do something in Kenji's point of view here it is... it's actually quite hard to write as a seven year old -.-"

Chapter 4

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Mum is always sad, but she's sadder today. I think it has something to do with that man I dreamt of. I think I said too much but that man told me to tell mum that he's here. 

"Toshi," I turn to my friend next to me.

"What is it Kenji?"

"What would you do if someone asked you to tell you mum something but when you do she ends up being sad?"

"I won't tell her!"

"But what if you didn't know that she would be sad and told her anyway?"

"I'll make her happy again!"

"How do I do that Toshi?" He shrugs his shoulders.

"I don't know."

"Kenji Kun, Toshi Kun what are you two talking about there?"

"Nothing Ms. Kei!" We both chorus at the same time.

Through out lunch and recess I think over this.

"Kenji Kun, what does your dad work as?" I look up to the person asking me that question and I tilt my head to the right.

"My dad…?"

"Mmhmm, your dad!"

"I… Don't.. Have a dad…" I say slowly and carefully, I feel something terrible start to grow in my stomach.

"I'm sure you have a dad Kenji! If not you won't be here! Is he away?"

"Away?" I don't understand this!

"You know like working?" Everyone is standing around me and I can't move.

"Working…?"

"Are you dumb Kenji?!" One of the girls screams. I cover my ears and pull a face.

"Kenji isn't dumb! He's smarter than all of you!" I open my eyes and Rin Rin is telling everyone off with Toshi next to her.

"Come on Kenji! We're leaving. Toshi are you coming?" She takes my arm and pulls me away, Toshi runs up to catch up with us.

"Thanks Rin Rin…" I say embarrassed.

"That's ok Kenji… That's what friends are for. Right Toshi?"

"Yep!"

---

Mum comes for me at three and she looks really tired…

"Mum…" I ask looking up at her.

"What is it Kenji?"

"Do you want to rest today?"

"Oh Kenji, I'm fine." But she doesn't sound fine…

"I'll help you cook today!"

"Oh Kenji, that's so sweet of you, but mum's fine doing the cooking."

"Well I want to learn then." I say stubbornly holding her hand tighter.

"That's great Kenji! I'll teach you tonight OK?"

"OK!" I smile at mum and she gives my hand a squeeze. "Pinkie promise?" I ask her holding out my last finger on my other hand. She links her last finger with mine and says,

"Pinkie promise." She looks a lot happier now, I'm happy.

"Mum,"

"Hmm what is it Kenji?" She asks me swing our arms up and down.

"Some kids asked me about my dad…" She's suddenly all tight and her hand feels hard. "Mum…" Maybe I asked her something I shouldn't have…

"What did they say Kenji?" She asks me her voice is all tight too… Maybe I shouldn't ask her any more.

"Don't worry about that mum, they didn't say much…"

"Kenji, what did they say?" She is really worried now, and I'm so sorry for even telling her about it.

"They asked me what my dad does… I don't even understand that… I told them I didn't have a dad but they didn't believe me."

"Do you want to know what your dad does Kenji?" I slowly shake my head, I don't know my dad so I don't see why I should know what he does?

"No… I don't know why I should…"

"Well then, why don't you tell me more about your day?" she asks me brightly, she's faking it I know but I go along anyway.

"Rin Rin stood up for me when the kids started to be mean to me. She is really strong and I think Toshi likes her." She laughs then and I know she is OK for now.

"Toshi sounds like a nice person, and Rin Rin sounds like a very strong girl!" I nod and say,

"She is! Everyone stopped talking when she yelled at them." She looks happy now.

"Want to go to the supermarket Kenji? I need to buy some food for tonight and you can help me pick the food."

"OK!"

---

Out in the cool air, Naru calms down and slows his walking pace. Today's an exceptionally nice day and he didn't regret taking some time off work, he finds a coffee house from across the road and enters the coffee house.

He orders a cup of tea and while drinking it he thought, _not as good as Mai's but far better than Lin's._ He lets out a soft laugh at the comparison and takes another sip of the steaming liquid. Directly across the street Mai is walking home arms laden with groceries and Kenji running ahead of her. Just as Naru turns his head towards the window, Mai runs off after Kenji. Naru catches a glimpse of her face and sets the cup down quickly.

_Mai?_ He takes in a deep breath. _There's no way it could be Mai… Must be because I'm thinking too much about her._ He sighs and shakes his head.

His phone rings next to him and he picks it up.

"Hello." A statement not a question.

"We got a call just then from a woman who lives in an apartment block in the Shido area. She says her neighbour has been killed by a sprit of some sort."

"What else did she say?"

"She was going to call for the police and ambulance." Naru takes in another deep breath.

"Lin did you tell her that we will not investigate if the police are involved?"

"Yes I did."

"What did she say." He asks calmly.

"Someone was dead and she has to do something about it. It doesn't matter if we can't help but she has to call for the police."

"How long ago do you think that was?" Naru stands up and tosses some notes onto the table leaving the coffee house.

"About a minute."

"I'll go see what the situation is, if it really is something paranormal we'll investigate. If not I'll leave. Stay at the office until I call for you Lin. What's the address?"

"6-8-9 Shido-ku." Naru hangs up immediately. _I'm in the area already; the house is exactly only three blocks away. If I can make it before the police or ambulance arrives I'll be fine._ Naru starts running the moment he hits the streets. Weaving in between shoppers and pedestrians within ten minutes he is at the house. Everything seems to be normal except for the abnormal amount of people gathering outside the house.

_Damn, I should have asked Lin what the woman's name was._ Naru grits his teeth and shoves his way through.

Several people are surrounding a woman in her late forties who is sobbing uncontrollably taking in fragmented sentences.

"Ms. What happened?"

"I.. the – I…" Frustrated Naru says,

"I'm from SPR, tell me – what happened?" The lady wipes her face with a tissue and struggles to speak in a coherent manner.

"I – I was visiting my neighbour_ – sob –_ when I came in, I found him lying on the floor dead and there – _hiccup _– was so much blood around and on him. But it didn't look like someone stabbed him, it looked like he imploded. And there's more –_ sob –_ I saw some words on the wall in blood and it said –_ sob_ –_ I will kill all_." She breaks out in a fresh wave of cries and hysterical sobbing. Naru sets his lip in a thin line and runs up the short flight of stairs leading into the building. This seems to be an old house converted into several smaller apartments, he noted.

He runs down the common corridor and comes to a room with its front door open reeking of fresh blood. There's no doubt about it. This was the house.

He looks into the room, grimacing at what he is seeing. The man's tongue was rolling out and his eyes were bludging out, there were dark marks all over the man's body and worst of all it smelt of evil sprits seeking revenge. He covers his nose and stepped into the room, on the far wall was the writing as the lady had said.

This is one of the rare cases they have come across where the ghost openly killed someone. There has to be a meaning behind this. He leaves the room and calls for Lin on the way down.

"Lin, we're investigating. Do all you can to stall the police from arriving. Get Yasahara. I want every thing to be photographed before the police comes and cleans it up. NOW!" Naru snaps the phone shut before even listening to Lin's reply. He rushes out of the building forcing his way past the gathering crowds.

* * *

A/N: about the address thing just for people who don't know: 

For eaxmple:

8 - 6 - 9 Akasaka  
Minato - Ku 107  
The meaning of the address is as follows:  
House no. 9  
Block no. 6  
Area 8 (in the Minato quarter)  
The number 107 is the area zip code

different quarters within the city are indicated by the suffix "Ku" so that for example, the Minato Quarter in Tokyo will have the official address of Minato - Ku.  
In large cities, areas that are not in the center of town will be indicated by the suffix "Shi" instead of "Ku".

(taken from: http:// www.worldwide-tax. com/japan/ japaddresses.asp ) just remove the spaces cuz this thing won't let me post the address to sites -.-"

i've got a case going now : D forgive me if it's too boring or not even factual - i'm not very good with all things supernatural and paranormal.. so yes, please leave a review too!!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

* * *

When I look up I notice that there are a lot of people surrounding the block on which we live on, Kenji is still chatting happliy obliviously next to me but I know he'll notice soon enough. 

"Kenji, hold this for mum." I pass him a paper bag full of vegetables and set down the rest of the shopping. I dig through my bag and find the front door key looping the key ring onto a finger before picking up the rest of the shopping. I take the paper bag from Kenji and balance it on one arm and I hold onto Kenji's hand with the free arm.

"Stay close to mum OK?" I pull him closer to my side as we approach the gathering crowds. The moment I push through the crowds something terrible starts to seep into my body. I can feel it suppressing me and the stench of blood is beyond words. I collapse onto the ground trying to get a breath in but if I try, the smell just makes me retch.

"Mum! MUM!!" Kenji is shaking me but I can't move, it's so raw the feeling but I know it somewhere. I've just been too desensitised to it, but now after so long of not being close to this feeling it is overwhelming. People are crowding abound me but they aren't doing anything. I want to scream 'GET ME OUT OF HERE!!' but I can't speak or breathe.

"Get her out of here!" Someone yells, but I lose everything after that. Because I just black out.

---

"Mum! Mum!" I slowly gain consciousness to find Kenji crying and shaking me. I reach up slowly to stroke his hair,

"Kenji… I'm alright… Don't cry OK? Mum's OK." I wipe his tears away but he pushes my hand away.

"No, you are not OK mum." He throws himself onto me and starts crying all over again. I wrap my arms around him and pat his back.

"Shuu, shuuu… Its OK, cry all you want Kenji…"

"No, you cry mum. I can't just cry for you." My child… Why is he so brave? My heart quivers and I can't stop it any more. I hug him tightly and cry into his small shoulders.

"Kenji… I'm so sorry for being such a terrible mum. But I love you so much."

"I love you too, you aren't a terrible mum. You're the best one in the whole world." His little arms tighten around my neck and I cry harder. A hand rests on my shoulder and I look up. At first it doesn't register, all I see are dark blue eyes and a pale face. But it takes me just a second to process it all. I stop crying and my hands fall limp. Kenji looks up at me and it feels so surreal. The younger version of the man before me is clinging tightly to me.

My eyes widen and I feel all the blood drain from my face. I feel faint again but I struggle to keep myself above the threatening darkness of unconsciousness.

"Na.. ru…" His name comes out barely just as a whisper but it sounds like I've just said it into a void of nothingness and it echoes so painfully around my head in my heart. I am in shock. I suddenly realise that – but I can't do anything about it. I can't deal with this today. Please God, don't let that be him. I can't deal with him! Not now! Please just as I've gotten some kind of normality back into my life. I don't want to live through what I had to in the first five years of leaving again. Not again… My mind shuts down and I faint again.

---

I wake again on something soft and the walls around me reflect the darkening sky. I struggle to get up but a cool authoritative voice orders me other wise.

"Don't move. I expect you'll still be in shock." That voice. I sink back down and close my eyes.

"Where's my son?" I ask quietly.

"He is being looked after by Lin." Lin… Oh my God. I swallow. I know what is going to happen now. He'll demand why I didn't tell him, he'll demand all sorts of things and he'll interrogate me. Where I've been, who I've been with. I slowly get up to stop the blood from rushing to much.

"Didn't I tell you to stay still?"

"You can't order me around Naru." I say defiantly while feeling totally lost.

"You just _fainted_ in the middle of a street."

"Judging from the sky I'd say it was a long time ago."

"You're different Mai..." From the corner of my eye I see him sit down across from me.

"Why did you leave?" He asks me softly. I knew this was coming.

"Because that was an option I thought was the best at the time."

"Why didn't – why didn't you tell me about your problem?"

"MY PROBLEM?! KENJI IS _MY_ PROBLEM NOW? Don't you DARE speak that way about my son." I yell standing up abruptly, my vision swims in front of me and I have to sit back down before I fall on my face. _He's yours too._

"Calm down Mai."

"Now you tell me to calm down. I've been a single mother since Kenji was born. Don't you tell me what to do." I massage my forehead with the tips of my fingers in an attempt to stop the throbbing. After the shock wears off I'll be left with a bigger hole in my heart. For now, thankfully it's been numbed by shock and now anger.

"Where have you been?"

"No where. Just trying to support my son and myself."

"Do you know who his father is?" I knew this was coming. Just like I knew how everything else was coming but I didn't want to face it. _Can't you tell? Do you really not recognise yourself?_

"Yes." I say blandly not looking at him.

"Does he know?" I look up and stare him in the eyes.

"Can you really not tell? If his father did it wouldn't make any difference." The throbbing dies down and I can stand up.

"I'm going. I have to make dinner – if not I'll have to buy take home food. And I do have a child to take care of." I walk towards the door but Naru blocks it off.

"Why wouldn't it make a difference?"

"Because I know. Naru, I'm different. I've _changed_ I'm not seventeen any more. Don't do something you don't know."

"Mai. Stop that. I know you're different so I'm trying to find a way to communicate with you." I look at him. He is still as tall as ever, he even looks the same – if possible even better looking. I can feel the pain coming back, its slow but it's recovering and by the time it gets full blown I know I won't be able to even function. I need to be in bed and tucked Kenji in by then.

I still love that bastard.

Damn him to hell.

"My son is my top priory at the moment, I have no time for you or other people. Good bye."

"Not until I say so." He stares back at me and the pain is starting to make it's presence known.

"Do you know how long I spent thinking about you? How long I agonised over the reason why you left? You didn't even say why. You just left with a note stuck to my office door and your keys with it."

"Not as long as I did. Never as long as I did." I say tears choking me up.

"Every morning of every day, every night of every day. I see you and I feel so much pain. You have no idea how much. It was only the thought of Kenji that kept me going. I ran on a little food everyday. Not because I couldn't afford it but because I just couldn't _eat_. I physically couldn't _eat_ Naru. They almost took Kenji away from me. Do you know how much that hurt? Then when I just slowly got some kind of normalcy back into my life you turn up. I don't need this. Kenji doesn't need this. We're fine on our own."

"When?" He asks me.

"When what!?" I cry out in anguish; the pain is almost unbearable.

"When did you find out? About Kenji."

"Two weeks." Not making a sound I let the tears flow out. I can remember it so well. Like it happened only a few weeks ago not years.

"He's mine isn't he?" The great genius decides to show his intelligence at last. The tears keep flowing.

"WHO ELSE NARU?!?! You tell me. WHO ELSE?" I scream making my voice go coarse. "Of course he's yours. One look and anyone can tell. Why do you have to make this more painful than it is?" I cry now. I really cry. I cry like I've never cried before. Not when my parents died. Not when I became a ward of the state. Not even when I found out about Kenji.

Naru wraps his arms around me and I keep crying, have I ever felt so comfortable? Just to keep crying into Naru's shoulder.

_That morning. When I woke up with his arms around me. That was the last time I felt so comfortable._

I don't want to stop. All these years, all the pain all the frustration it keeps pouring out and even if I want to stop I can't. The steel dam that I built from scratch has broken and I can't stop the torrents from flooding me.

* * *

A/N: How was it? I decided to do this in this chapter cuz I think some people are getting crazy with the waiting :p 

I've now got a little problem – I don't know what else to write about this… I'll probably work on the case but I'm still a little fuzzy about what should happen in the case, so ideas, feedback anything it'll be good. Oh yes and don't forget to review!!


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Thanks for all the suggestions and feedback! i'll try and write as much as i can!!

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Chapter 6

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The crowds starts to gather around someone; I push through some people again to see what the commotion is all about. A young lady had collapse on the floor and a young child is crying and shaking her. 

"Mum! Mum! Mum!!" Mum? So young? I shake my head and push forward to see why she collapsed. Someone turns her over and I see her face. My world stops. Everything stops. I don't breathe, I don't hear, I don't feel. All I know is that she is the very person I have been looking for all these years. And suddenly my world is brought back to life and everything feels so new, so raw. The colours brighter the sounds louder.

"GET HER OUT OF HERE!" I roughly push away the people in front of me and I run next to her. I scoop her up, her weight in my arms feel so reassuring. There's nothing wrong with her. She just isn't used to this feeling yet. The repulsive, constricting presence of an evil sprit. Running clear from the block I set her down on the pavement, her son runs up to me tears staining his cheek.

"Where are you taking my mum?" He wipes his eyes and nose with the sleeve of his shirt.

"No where, just – she needs space and some breathing area." I look at her and trace her face in my mind. She looks almost the same, but I can't help but notice that she's gone painfully thin. I look up at her son and ask him gently,

"What is your mother's name?" He's stopped crying and only little sniffs comes out once in awhile. He looks up with wide eyes rimmed red from all the crying but those eyes – they could have mirrored my own. I am taken aback, this child I've never seen before he looks so much like me.

"My mum…?" He blinks once and his forehead contracts tightly, "Tan-Taniyama Mai!" He says triumphantly.

_Mai_.

It really is her…

"Will she be OK?" He asks me worriedly. He really cares for his mother… I smile to try and calm him down.

"She will be fine, she just needed some place away from where she was. She'll be OK." _Keep saying that and you might just convince yourself. _He sits next to his mother and hugs her, brushing away her long hair. He turns away from me and bends over his mother. I sit down next to her on the pavement to think.

She left seven years ago, and this child can't be over seven or six years of age… But that would mean she was pregnant then?! I must not be thinking properly… I glance at her again; she's grown out her hair too… How changed is she now? My heart aches for her and her son. I blink in surprise. My heart… I haven't felt anything there for too long.

I hear soft sobbing coming from her son,

"Hey now, she'll be fine." I say gently, if not for the sake of Mai it'll be for the sake of this child.

"No she isn't!" She isn't? I didn't ask … _She isn't_… She never was fine to start with. I pass him my handkerchief and he takes it shyly from me.

"Wipe up those tears, I promise you that she'll be fine." He looks at me again, trusting me with everything. Why are children so trusting? His eyes widen and he says,

"I know you! You were in my dream! You told me to tell my mum about you!" Dream? What dream? _Like Mai_. My eyes widen in astonishment.

"What did 'I' say in your dream?"

"You told me something about those floaty things… They were called will-o-wisps or something… You told me, _you_ should know. Then you told me to tell mum about you and when I woke up I told her and she got worse." He gives me an accusing glare and goes back to his mother ignoring me completely.

Mai starts to stir and her son starts to shake her,

"Mum! Mum!" I keep some distance between us to let her get some space.

"Kenji… I'm alright… Don't cry OK? Mum's OK." I hear her voice again after so long I have to make myself stand still as to not rush to her demanding to hear about everything. I turn my head and I see her gently wiping her son's tears away. She's such a kind, gentle person I knew she would be a great mum… Her son roughly pushes her hand away and says almost angrily,

"No, you are not OK mum." He throws himself onto her and starts crying all over again. He wraps his arms around her neck and hugs her so tightly it looked as if he was never going to let go.

"Shuu, shuuu… It's OK, cry all you want Kenji…" She placates him, holding onto him tightly.

"No, you cry mum. I can't just cry for you." He says sadly, she hugs him even tighter and cries heart-wrenching cries into his small shoulders.

"Kenji… I'm so sorry for being such a terrible mum. But I love you so much." Something stabs my heart. I grimace and put up with it.

"I love you too, you aren't a terrible mum. You're the best one in the whole world." She cries harder. I can't stop myself, I find myself walking up to her and placing my hand on her shoulder to get her attention. She stops crying and her hands fall limp. She looks at me with a blank expression; her eyes flat but my memories say other wise.

Her eyes widen, her pupils contract and I see her pale even more.

"Na.. ru…" She says my name, so softly but I hear it. It seems to echo on in my head. Her eyelids flutter and she falls limp again, I catch her before she can drop to the ground but her son isn't making anything easier for me.

"What did you do to her?!" Her son shakes my arm and while trying to clear his eyes from tears tries to look angry with me as well. If I were watching this as an outsider I would have laughed. But I know that this is no laughing matter. I gently set her down again and dig out my phone to call Lin.

"Lin, where are you?"

"I have Yasahara with me. Where are you?"

"I'm a block away. Don't ask. Just get here with the car. Leave Yasahara with the equipment, he knows what to do and to do it quickly. I trust you've gotten the police to stall?"

"Yes. I'll be there now." Within a minute the car pulls up and Lin opens the passenger door from the inside.

"We have a problem Lin." I say grimly. I stand aside and I watch his eyes widen in shock then horror.

"MAI!" he jumps out of the car and is next to her. "Naru!" He looks at me questioningly – almost accusing me. "What happened?!"

"She got too over whelmed by the sense of the sprit. I trust you felt it too."

"How could any one not? Even Yasahara felt it." Her son forcefully pulls on Lin's sleeve to get his attention.

"Don't hurt my mum!" when he looks down onto the child his eyes widen. I don't even have to ask him why. I know it myself.

"Naru…"

"I _know_ Lin. Just get her back to SPR. We need to let her recover. And I need to talk to her." Lin bends down to pick her up but her son holds on tight to his sleeve.

"Don't take my mum away!" He says tearfully.

"Mum?!" Lin asks me giving me a perplexed look.

"Don't ask Lin. I'll explain later." I bend down to her son and tell him,

"We need to get your mum some place where she can rest, you can come with us too or if you'd like we can bring you home if there is someone there." He shakes his head vigorously.

"There's no one there. It's only mum and me. I'm going with her."

"Lin get her in the back," I turn back to her son. "What is you name?"

"Kenji." _Kenji._

"Kenji, why don't you sit with your mum at the back?" He gives me a guarded look, which suggests that he doesn't trust me with his mother at all.

"Alright." He says grudgingly. Lin gently sets Mai on the back seat and Kenji climbs in. I get into the front seat next to Lin,

"Tell Yasahara that if the police arrives, tell him that he is under the 5th division under Sergeant Sai. It'll slide."

---

"Naru, I hope you are going to explain to me about Mai. And now would be much more preferable." I watch Kenji playing at the coffee table with some paper that Lin had given him when we came in.

"I really have no idea myself Lin. I just found her lying on the ground outside the house her shopping was everywhere and people were just standing there doing absolutely NOTHING. They didn't even bother to move away." I pour myself some water from the tap and drink it down in three gulps.

"Is he really Mai's son?" Lin asks me in an undertone.

"Who else could he be?" I ask Lin, rinsing my cup in some running water. "How is she?"

"I just checked, she's still out. I don't think she'll come to until tomorrow, if she still doesn't we might have to call in a doctor." I rub my temples to rid of the worry and stress.

"I'll be in my office. I'll stay with her if she doesn't come to. Look after Kenji will you? Just keep him occupied and if he's hungry take him out to eat, just tell me before you go." I watch him as he folds paper planes and throws them. He stops for a moment and looks up straight at me as if he knew I was looking at him.

"Mum won't be alright because you're here." He says plainly, no malice or anger just the truth. I swallow a lump in my throat and close my office door behind me. Inside the curtains are closed to keep the light out so that it won't disturb Mai as she rests. I open the curtains slightly to look out the window, the sky is turning dark and streaks of orange and reds are all over the sky. I open a curtain to let in the soft dusk light filter in, as I turn around I hear her turning in her rest, she starts to move. I can see her form trying to sit up.

"Don't move. I expect you'll still be in shock." I say firmly, she slowly sinks back down.

"Where's my son?" She asks quietly.

"He is being looked after by Lin." I reply. She starts to get up again and I say more sharply than I had intended,

"Didn't I tell you to stay still?"

"You can't order me around Naru." She says defiantly. She is so different now…

"You just _fainted_ in the middle of a street." I emphasise the 'fainted' part, just in case she didn't catch it.

"Judging from the sky I'd say it was a long time ago." She says miserably.

"You're different Mai..." I move away from the window and take a seat across from her. She turns her head away, her hair now forming a curtain.

"Why did you leave?" I ask leaning forward.

"Because that was an option I thought was the best at the time." Best option? BEST? She wasn't thinking.

"Why didn't – why didn't you tell me about your problem?"

"MY PROBLEM?! KENJI IS _MY_ PROBLEM NOW? Don't you DARE speak that way about my son." Enraged she jumps up from the couch and screams at me, I can see that she is still recovering as she wavers a little. She drops heavily back onto the couch and holds her head in her hands.

"Calm down Mai."

"Now you tell me to calm down. I've been a single mother since Kenji was born. Don't you tell me what to do." She massages her forehead with the tips of her fingers.

"Where have you been?" I ask concerned.

"No where. Just trying to support my son and myself."

"Do you know who his father is?" Seven years ago... Was she with anyone? I struggle to remember but i come up with nothing.

"Yes." She says bluntly avoiding me.

"Does he know?" She looks me straight into the eye, giving me a hard look.

"Can you really not tell? If his father did it wouldn't make any difference." And how do you know that? He must be a real bastard not to care. I look down onto the carpet and I hear her stand up.

"I'm going. I have to make dinner – if not I'll have to buy take home food. And I do have a child to take care of." I look up and she's walking to the door. I go ahead of her and block her off.

"Why wouldn't it make a difference?" I ask; there has to be a reason why she thinks Kenji's father wouldn't care.

"Because I know. Naru, I'm different. I've _changed_ I'm not seventeen any more. Don't do something you don't know." She says determinedly.

"Mai. Stop that. I know you're different so I'm trying to find a way to communicate with you." I search her eyes for something – anything. But she is hiding them so well. A sharp twist in my gut. This isn't the Mai I knew. The Mai I knew would never be able to hide her feelings at all. Why didn't she come to ask for help?

She looks back at me with cold unflinching eyes and says icily,

"My son is my top priority at the moment, I have no time for you or other people. Good bye."

"Not until I say so." She wants to do it her way; we'll do it her way.

"Do you know how long I spent thinking about you? How long I agonised over the reason why you left? You didn't even say why. You just left with a note stuck to my office door and your keys with it." Her eyes takes on a glassy sheen and she tries to blink it way but it doesn't work and her voice comes out broken.

"Not as long as I did. Never as long as I did." Tears choking her. "Every morning of every day, every night of every day. I see you and I feel so much pain. You have no idea how much. It was only the thought of Kenji that kept me going. I ran on a little food everyday. Not because I couldn't afford it but because I just couldn't _eat_. I physically couldn't _eat_ Naru. They almost took Kenji away from me. Do you know how much that hurt? Then when I just slowly got some kind of normalcy back into my life you turn up. I don't need this. Kenji doesn't need this. We're fine on our own." My heart twists even more and it is the most painful feeling I've ever known.

"When?" I ask barely controlling the twisting feeling.

"When what!?" She cries out in obvious pain.

"When did you find out? About Kenji." I force myself to add on the last part.

"Two weeks." She starts to cry but the tears just flow out with no sound. Such is her pain that she can't even make a noise.

Two Weeks. I close my eyes. Two weeks before she left, I was completely totally smashed out of my mind. It was ten in the night and no one was in the office, I was really pissed off and really frustrated and decided to drink it off. The only one time I did something so stupid. Why did I do that?

Oh yes, I remember now. Mai was going out with some drop kick and she told me she wouldn't be attending work that day because she was going to see that guy. We had a really bad case then too and I needed all the help I could get and she had to drop out. And Masako wouldn't stop badgering me. After Lin left I pulled out some alcohol and started to drink, I finished about three quarters of the bottle when Mai showed up. I don't even remember why she came. I can only remember up to the point where Mai literally hauls me through my front door. Then I can't remember anything else.

I thought that was all a wonderful dream; in the morning it was like I woke up in heaven. She was sleeping so soundly in my arms and it felt so good. She was so warm and soft in my arms, I drifted back to sleep and I woke up late for work that day. She avoided me the whole day, then she called in sick for five days following that.

I don't need her to tell me what happened when I totally blacked out.

Kenji. His face appears in my mind, his hair is almost the exact shade as mine, but his eyes… He looks exactly like me. Why didn't I – _because you didn't think it was possible._

"He's mine isn't he?" Her tears keep flowing.

"WHO ELSE NARU?!?! You tell me. WHO ELSE?" She screams making her voice go coarse. How could I have been so stupid and careless? "Of course he's yours. One look and anyone can tell. Why do you have to make this more painful than it is?" She cries like I've never seen anyone cry before, I never even knew it was possible to have that much pain. Expressed in so many tears. _Mum won't be better because you're here_. Never in my life have I felt so angry with myself. So angry and so ashamed.

I pull her into my arms and hug her tightly willing her to cry everything out. It's my turn to carry the pain. I burry my head in her shoulder and for once in a long time I cry.

* * *

A/N: How was that? it's a little longer but it talks about Naru's POV... hope you liked that! please review too! 

Another thing, do you want a chapter about when Naru became totally smashed? and exactly _why_ he decided to get smashed?


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

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A/N: OK everyone, I'm feeling kinda weird about writing this chapter because one – Naru is going to get smashed (so drunk I think that 'smashed' is a more appropriate word to use…), so un-funnily OOC and the whole 'in between' scene… ok, I'm just being squeamish about writing this chapter cuz my friend is sooo going to bag me out about being dirty . You know who you are so don't you dare bag me out about this chapter. You even asked for it. The first part would be IC but after that it'll be downhill. So if you aren't very fond of OOC please skip this chapter!! Lin/Kenji's POV will come by the next chapter (hopefully) and perhaps even getting some of the old team back together by then too… OK and onto the story!

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_7 years ago…_

"Naru! I'm leaving now!" Seventeen-year-old Mai calls out as she reached for her scarf. Her boss, a normally emotionless lump of human comes out from his office when he heard her announcing her leave.

"Where are you going?" He asked her icily, noticing that she had her scarf on already.

"Out. I already told you I was going to take today off." _You better thank me for staying in the morning._ Mai thinks mutinously.

"Thank you for staying this morning Mai." Her boss intones dryly. She claps her hands to her mouth.

"Did I just say that?" She asked going red, and it wasn't attributed to the warm clothes she was wearing.

"Yes. Don't change the subject. Where are you going?" He asked single-mindedly.

"Out. I already said." She said trying to aim for the flippant voice but failing miserably.

"Out where?" He stood there in front of her and the door with his arms folded. Her face falls and she whines,

"Out with a friend! What is with you and my private life?!"

"What friend?" He asked coldly.

"_My_ friend."

"What kind of a friend?" He asked bluntly.

"None of your business!" Mai retorts, blushing to the roots of her hair getting embarrassed.

"It is because you are taking off work hours to see that _friend_."

"Well I need a life too you know! And if you HAVE to know he's my boyfriend OK? Happy? We arranged this over a week ago, so it's not something that I conveniently made up to ditch work!" He ignored her outburst and said in his 'pissed off' boss voice.

"If you haven't noticed _Mai_ we have a case on at the moment and we're leaving in half an hour to the client's home. By which time I need you. So if you say you are just going _out_ with the sole intention of having fun I am not going to allow you." She blinks once, then twice. Her boss has never said that much in such a short period of time either.

"Eahh!!! But that's not fair! I told you over a WEEK AGO!!" She complains loudly trailing after her boss who was ignoring her. He goes back into his office and rudely slammed the door shut in her face. Anger boiled up in her like a dangerous substance in a chemical reaction.

"I'M GOING NOW! I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU THINK NARU! YOU CAN'T ORDER MY LIFE TOO YOU KNOW!" Livid she stormed to the front door. Naru opened his office door an informed her coolly,

"If you step out there, don't bother coming back for the remainder of this case. You're off it." She spun around her brown hair flicking everywhere and her eyes shooting sparks.

"FINE! LIKE YOU EVER NEEDED ME IN ANY OF THE CASES!" She wretched the door open and stormed out angrily slamming the door shut behind her.

Naru stared at the closed door long after Mai had left cursing himself for being so brash. He _needed_ her on cases! She could often find what was wrong or what was causing the problem long before any tests could be done. He snapped himself out of his stupor and marched back into his office to see if there was anything he could do about the lack of staff.

He shuts his door loudly and Lin pokes his head out from behind his office door to check out what all the commotion was about but was greeted by an empty hall way and not a soul in sight.

---

The cool wind rippled through the trees swirling the many lost autumn leaves around her.

"I don't think we should be together any more Mai." She hides the pain behind steel walls and says cheerfully,

"That's OK. It's alright if you don't want to see me any more." To everyone else she seems nonchalant but to a certain someone it is easily seen that she was really hurt.

"Thanks for understanding Mai." He turns around and walks away from her, but she stays where she is until she can no longer see him.

"There goes another one…" She sighs, clutching her arm for support. She sat down on a near by bench and stared off into space.

"Every time it's the same old thing, I wonder what is wrong with me. In the end I'm the loser." She lets out another depressed sigh.

'_If you step out there, don't bother coming back for the remainder of this case. You're off it.'_

Good God why did I disobey Naru and left? Now I have nowhere to go. I should have known that I was going to get dumped. I have nowhere to go and I'm thoroughly depressed. What I really need is a good case and Bou-San to make me feel better. She decided resolutely. But Naru banned me from the case… Aurgh!! Stuff it! I'm going to do something worth my time and make myself feel better! Mai jumped up from the bench and walked confidently in the direction of town.

---

That afternoon Naru was particularly irritated, he even got irritated enough to yell at the physics helping out on the case. The usually calm, cool unaffected Naru was being extremely explosive and especially reactive to the word 'Mai'.

"Hey, Naru where's Mai?" Bou-san asked unwisely while carrying some equipment.

"I don't know and I don't care." He snapped back sharply.

"Hey calm down. I was just asking about Mai…" Naru turned around and gave Bou-san a hard stare.

"I would appreciate it if you wouldn't mention her name around me again – at least for the remainder of this day. No make that the remainder of this CASE." He said coldly. Turning to the other physics he told them, "That goes for _everybody_."

"Oh…? What happened Naru?" Masako asked him sliding up next to him and holding onto his arm in quite a lecherous way.

"Nothing that concerns you Hara-san." He pried her hands off his arm and goes ahead of Lin to knock on the door.

Once the client opened the door he was all business. One could never guess that he was still fuming over Mai or that he was thoroughly pissed off at Masako making not-so-subtle-hints at him or that this case is turning out to be a really ugly one that will be taking up a lot of Naru's time and energy.

Damn it! What he really wanted to do was storm up and down the streets looking for Mai then hauling her back to work. Regardless of wether she was with her boyfriend or not. Remembering that little detail about the person she was meeting just served to irritate him even more.

"We'll see what we can do." Naru told the client, keeping a tight lid on his irritation from the client, not promising anything to them either. "Lin, come with me back to SPR. We need to finish off some paper work. Everyone else set up base. I'll return later."

Through out the day Naru worked restlessly along with Lin through the piles of paper work.

If Mai was here I could be attending to the case instead of doing all this paper work. Naru grumbled in his head working quickly through the papers.

"Black mood today Naru?" Lin asked turning his attention on a new set of papers.

"Nothing that concerns you greatly Lin." Came his cold swift rely.

The day passed quickly and soon it turned into evening, Lin had already finished his work for the day and turned to Naru.

"I'm going down to the base to check on the equipment. Are you coming?" Without looking up Naru gave his answer,

"No. Just send me the report I'll work on here."

"OK." Lin picked up his coat and shuts the door quietly behind him leaving the office even quieter than it was before. Naru sighed and kneaded his forehead. Why was it that he's noticing the silences more profoundly when Mai wasn't here? Nothing makes sense now. Naru shuts the folder with a loud snap and stood up.

It's about dinnertime anyway I'll go and have something for dinner. He shrugged on his coat and locked the front door behind him before heading down the flight of stairs down to the main street.

---

It's eight… What can I do now? Wondered Mai. I don't feel like going home, it's just too depressing on my own… Can't go back to SPR I bet anything at Naru is still there. Once she thought up Naru's name her mood became blacker.

Stuff that jerk. She glowers, a large cinema sign caught her attention and on an impulse she walked up to the ticket counter buying a ticket to a movie that her friends have been suggesting to her for a while. It's most probably a romantic soap but she didn't care. Anything to forget about Naru would work.

Half an hour into the movie and she was regretting her choice. It would have done her a lot more good if she had picked a horror or action flick instead of this mushy crying drama. She checked her watch – another hour and a half to go. She lets out an inward groan and sink further into her seat. Under normal circumstances – that is, she hadn't been dumped about eight hours ago and she still had her job to do, she would have enjoyed this film immensely. However her black mood after being dumped was not being helped by watching the fictitious characters go through the ups (mostly) and downs of love.

Half an hour later she decided to leave the cinema; this wasn't worth her time. It didn't even help her forget even momentarily about Naru, as she left the theatre she threw her ticket in a near by bin, a dark cloud flowing her every step.

_Why me?_ She moans to herself. Several passer-bys gave her a strange look. She slapped her hands to her face._ I said that out loud didn't I?_ She wandered around the shopping area for a while before deciding to head home. It's nearly ten and there isn't anything left to do. Shops are closing and the crowd of people are thinning out.

---

At the office Naru is left sitting on his own after returning from having dinner, paper work still on the table but his mind was far from what he was holding in his hands. He spent the whole day in constant activity to keep his mind from straying to what Mai had said before, but now in the total silence of his office and the outside world slowing down to just a trickle of activity he couldn't stop himself turning over her words in his mind.

'…_My boyfriend…'_ She has a boyfriend huh? _Why didn't I ever know that?_ How long have they been together for? I shouldn't want to know! He berates himself. Why should I care anyway? What she chooses to do in her own time is all good and fine, but not in work time!

The more he thought about it the more worked up and agitated he became.

Calm… I need to calm down. I've never worked myself up this much before, what is happening now? As if to contradict himself he suddenly thought, _God Dammnit! That woman pisses me off so much!_ He slammed his fist on the table and stood up abruptly.

_Calm, calm, calm…_

That was his mantra but he only got through half a minute until he felt pissed off not only at Mai but himself too.

At this rate, she's going to be the death of me. He went into the kitchenette, opened and closed all the cupboards and drawers to settle his restlessness. On the bottom cupboard he found a bottle of un-opened wine.

What is this doing here? No one here drinks, not even Lin. Alcohol. If I can't make myself stop thinking about Mai, alcohol will. He turned the bottle around; total alcohol content read 8 percent. Perfect. That should make any thinking process slow down by more than half. Take this as a drugging effect and not really something recreational. He told himself while going through the utensils before finding a cork opener.

He pours himself a glass toasting to the silence. Desperate times call for desperate measures. He downed the whole glass in two gulps and winced at the liquid going down. He wasn't a strong drinker and has only drunk once before and that was only one flute of champagne.

After a few more glasses it was much easier to drink it down in one go and he could feel himself go sluggish.

That's great. It really is working.

---

Oh joy. Mai thought dryly. I've walked myself down to SPR and I didn't even notice it. If she had a near by wall she would have smashed her head on the wall repeatedly. She glanced down on her watch it's nearly ten. Surely no one would be there right? Even Naru would have gone home by then… I'll just take a look and get some stuff that I could do later at home without coming back to get.

She climbed the staircase up to the office with an increasing sense of urgency. There was something very wrong and she can feel it, but she has no idea what was compelling her up the steps faster. Once she reached the front door she took in a deep breath to steady herself and slowly inserted the key into the lock and turned the lock. It wasn't locked at all. In her surprise she opened the door in haste slamming the back of the door onto the wall. She winced at the loud slam and thought, Naru won't be too happy with the marks tomorrow… She cautiously looked around the darken room with only some light spilling out from the kitchenette. The eerie lighting gave every object extra shadows and the whole room a sense of creepiness that ate through her stomach.

Just my imagination running wild. Mai chided herself barely suppressing the inward shudder. A shadow moving at the corner of her eye made her jump.

"Ahh!"

"Mai… Is that you…?" Her heart still thumping away she answered to the all too familiar voice.

"N-Naru, what are you doing here?" She reached over to the wall and flicked on the main lights, banishing the shadows.

"Finishing some work…" There was a noticeable slur in his words and when Mai looked closely she could see a bottle of wine on the coffee table and one glass.

"What are you doing?" Mai asked him incredulously all thoughts of work cleared from her mind.

"Drinking…" She hurried to his side and picked up the bottle of wine reading the label.

"Did you drink all this yourself?!" She held up the bottle and shook it around to demonstrate how empty it was by the hollow slushing sounds that came from the bottle.

"Pretty much…" Furiously Mai picked up the glass and the bottle walking into the kitchenette tipping the rest of the wine down the sink. She marched back to where Naru was sitting and turned her anger on him.

"What do you think you were DOING?! You could have gotten really sick! Not to mention you'll have a very nice hangover tomorrow!"

"I'm fine…" He slurred out and stood up swaying dangerously on the one spot. Mai pushed him back down onto his seat and ordered him to stay where he was. She poured him a glass of water and made him drink it down and repeated it several times.

"One whole bottle of wine. That's just great. Who knows how long it'll take you to get over it? And you're DRUNK. Why did you even start drinking anyway?" Mai asked him flopping onto the couch next to him.

"It's your fault." He slurred.

"MY FAULT?! Oh now you have the cheek to blame it on me!" Her anger fuelled by her unresolved emotional state from this afternoon snowballed now under stress.

"If you didn't have to go off when I needed you on the case it wouldn't have been a problem. But you had to go and see your _boyfriend_." He said sardonically.

"What does it have to do with you anyway?!" She asked him thoroughly pissed off. He grabbed her hand tightly and pulled her closer to him, and in that moment she could have been tricked into thinking he wasn't really drunk. His eyes were clear with conviction as he said,

"It has _everything_ to do with me." And just as abruptly as when he took up her hand he dropped it and slumped back onto the couch. She was far too angry and tired to get embarrassed. The whole day had just drained her of her charitably.

"It's the alcohol talking. Don't even bother saying anything in your defence right now. You can't even handle any complex thoughts at the moment so don't even bother saying anything." She stood up and asked him,

"Where do you live? I'm going to haul you back home and you better be grateful." She snapped irritably at him.

"What's the matter?" He asked trying not to slur his words. "You don't sound like yourself."

"Give it a rest Naru. You won't even remember this tomorrow." She went into his office and dug through his files finding his address on a bank statement he left in his drawer.

She waved the piece of paper in front of him and asked him,

"Is this where you live?" She shoved the paper into his hands and waited for his answer.

"Yes…" She checked her watch – 10.20. It'll be too late there won't be any taxis operating now. She looked at him thinking hard.

"All right. We're walking you home. This doesn't look too far from here." She grabbed his coat and tossed it at him.

"Put it on. We're going. I can only hope that the cold air will sober you up." She opened the door and went to Naru's side helping him into his coat. She slung his arm around her shoulder and heaved him up.

"Come on, move your legs. I can't carry you. Good God Naru, you are so heavy, what do you eat?!" She pulled his half conscious form out the front door before locking the door behind her.

While walking Mai kept him talking just so that he wouldn't fall a sleep on her, the cold did nothing to improve her mood and she just kept firing questions at him to make sure he stayed awake.

"What were you doing at the office at this time?"

"I told you… I was finishing some work…" She re-adjust his arm on her shoulder and pulled him up again as he was slipping down.

"Yeah and what work requires you to drink yourself drunk?" She asked scornfully.

"I just wanted to ignore… a lot of things…"

"What's gotten into you Naru? You _never_ ignore anything."

"I realised… That I really can't do anything about some things and I'd much rather ignore them."

"Alcohol as a means of ignoring something is definitely _not_ good for your health. And the next day you wake up to the same problem and a throbbing headache."

"What about you… Don't you ever ignore anything?"

"I do. But I don't solve them by ignoring them do I? Come on, wake up a little more. I can't carry you." She shook him a little before pulling him up to stop him from slipping down.

"What happened today Mai?" His words meshing together.

"What happened what?"

"With your boyfriend I mean…" Her grip on his arm tightens but he doesn't say a word about it.

"Nothing. It's none of your business anyway."

"It is when you're giving me a bruise because of what that bastard did to you." She loosened her grip on his arm,

"Sorry. I've just had a bad day. Nothing that concerns you." Although if you didn't ban me from the case I might feel that little bit better. Naru chuckled and said,

"I regretted I banned you from the case."

"Did I just say that out loud?" She moaned and he just chuckled some more. "I take that as a 'yes' then." She said dryly but he still kept on laughing.

"If you keep laughing at me I will drop you on the floor and leave you here." She threatened pulling him along. His head dropped onto her shoulder and he became heavier.

"Naru! OI! Wake up!"

"Oh right… Why'd you have to be with him…?" He mumbled his words becoming indistinguishable but Mai caught it all. He struggled to move his feet and almost trips over himself. She heaved him up and shook him up.

"Come on, just a little bit more Naru. Stay awake."

"Are other people better than me Mai?" He asked her completely oblivious to her struggling under his weight.

"What, you mean as in personality wise? Yes other people are better than you. At least they aren't so narcissistic about themselves."

"No," He lifted his head to look at Mai struggling to find the right words. "I meant, are other people better for you than I am?"

"Why don't you ask yourself that Naru?" She asked him briskly.

"I think… I have but I don't know…"

"No one will be good for me until they can understand and accept me as I am Naru. And no one has been able to accept and understand where I'm coming from…" Bitter sadness clouds her eyes, she furiously blinks away the tears threatening to over spill and keeps her sadness bottled up for now.

"If I promise to understand and accept you will you do the same for me?"

"I don't know what you're on about Naru. Just get a lot of sleep and let the alcohol wear off."

She stopped in front of a house and asked Naru,

"Is this where you live?" Naru lifted his head with much effort and nods. "Give me the keys."

"In my pocket… on my left…" Mai struggled to fish out his keys while keeping a hand on his arm around her neck to stop him from dropping to the ground. She found the keys and opened the front door; most of the lights were on and warm air greeted her as she pulled Naru through the door, shutting it behind her once he was in. She walked into the living room and with a loud thud dropped him onto the couch.

"You can sleep it off here. Just drag your sorry arse to your room when you've come to a little more." She turned to leave but he held onto her jacket.

"Don't go yet." He breathed out, eyes closed.

"It's late Naru. I have to go home." She said almost whining.

"It's too late to go home yourself. Stay a little while with me." She was reluctant to go and the warm air was enveloping her in its comforting warmth. She relented and sat next to Naru. He leaned on her shoulder and said quietly,

"Thank you." For what seemed like an eternity they sat together, Naru leaning on her. Just before she drifted to sleep he stirred and woke her up.

"Naru? Are you OK now?" He held onto her arm,

"No… It's just uncomfortable here…" She heaved a sigh.

"The things I do just for you. God I'm tired. Where's your room Naru?"

"Upstairs the second door on the left…" He mumbled his head falling heavily to one side. She loosened his hold on her arm and stood up, pulling his arm up.

"Come on. Get up. My charitable side hasn't gone to the dogs yet apparently." He stood up sluggishly and leaned on Mai as she walked him up the stairs.

She opened his door wide and dragged him in before pulling him to his bed, it was near pitch black in his room save for the streams of light coming in from the windows. She had to get used to the darkness before dropping him on the bed. She pushed his legs on the bed and pulled the covers over him.

"Go sleep. I'm going now. But I'll leave the aspirins on your bed side table before I go." As she turned to leave he pulled her back.

"Don't go…"

"I'm just going to get some aspirin."

"But you'll go after that."

"I'll come and see you tomorrow."

"Just don't go… Sleep with me…" A furious shade of red engulfs her face.

"I – I – I can't sleep with you!"

"Please don't leave Mai…" He slowly got up trying to get his balance. When he was sitting up he took both of her hands in his and pulled her closer.

"I hate being alone. I've never been alone Mai, and sometimes it hurts so much I don't even sleep. I know you have someone else you like Mai but just stay with me for tonight… please…" He lets her hand go and cupped her face in his hands before kissing her gently. Shock makes her stay still for a moment until her brain kicked in.

_NARU IS KISSING ME!! AGHHHH!!!_

She tried to break away but he held onto her until her brain completely gave way to what her heart really wanted.

---

A/N: OK to keep this story under the 'T' rating I won't be writing anything else soo use your imagination… I know everyone has a very good and fertile imagination so imagine away. And I don't wish to scar anyone for life either…

---

_Such a sweet smell…_ Naru instinctively moved closer to the source of the smell to find himself bumping into something hard yet soft at the same time. He slowly opened his eyes to see brown hair, everything to him was still fuzzy and lacking any realism. _I must be dreaming… That's Mai's smell…_ His arms tighten around a warm and soft body. _It must be the alcohol…_ He decided fuzzily before cuddling into her and falling back to sleep before the throbbing headache could set in.

---

Sunlight slowly filtered through the window disturbing Mai from her sleep. Her eyelids flutter open before closing them again to block out the light.

Where am I? She closed her eyes and thought for a moment until everything came back. Then she wished she didn't remember anything at all. Holding in a wince she opened her eyes again blinking a few times to get used to the bright light.

A thick cover ensconced her in and a warm body was holding hers protectively. Mai closed her eyes for a moment trying to recall when was the last time she felt so comfortable and protected. She could find none and desperately fought to imprint this feeling into her heart forever. She turned around slow and gently as to not wake him up, the last thing she wanted was for him to wake up, his arm still around her waist tightened when she moved.

She rested her head on her arm and just watched him sleep. He looks so peaceful when he's asleep… So beautiful… Mai thought tenderly. Then another thought started to fester in her mind and no amount of ignoring would do it any good.

He won't remember anything when he wakes up. I don't even think he'll remember me taking him home… Biting down on her bottom lip she carefully lifted his arm off hers and replaced her body with a pillow. He resisted for a moment before accepting the pillow in lieu of her body. She breathed a sigh of relief. At least she could leave without him noticing.

Using the edge of the blanket to cover herself in so she wouldn't feel the cold she reached out for the nearest shirt to wear. It was a large white button down shirt, which surprised her. Naru never wore anything that wasn't black out. He probably wore that at home when there's no one around. She thought pulling on the shirt before buttoning up several buttons and quietly moving around to pick up her own clothes. She decided that she couldn't get changed while Naru's sleeping form was just a few feet away. So she bundled up her clothes and quietly slipped out of his room, making her way down to the main bathroom to get changed.

The feeling of familiarity around the house gave her the chills, she found the bathroom with no problem and she didn't even have to look through cupboards and drawers to find the aspirin. It was located on the top of the fridge.

The kitchen was kept clean and tidy, there wasn't any clutter on the bench tops not even glasses or mugs. And yet without even looking Mai found a clean glass and a jug of water. Shaking off the goose bumps she poured herself a glass of water before drinking it all in one go and leaving it in the sink, reminding herself to clean it up later.

In a clean glass she poured a glass of water and carried it up with the aspirins to Naru's room. Gently she sets the glass of water and aspirin on his bedside table and quickly wrote out a note holding it down with the glass of water and aspirins.

_Take the aspirins and have more sleep. Don't bother coming in today. I'll make up something for you._

_Mai._

She brushed his hair out of his face with the back of her hand and smiled down at him.

"Sleep well Naru…" Hesitatingly she bent down and kissed him, whispering, "I love you…" He stirred in his sleep before settling back to sleep. She breathed out a sigh of relief again. He didn't wake up.

She picked up her scarf and coat from the living room where she left it before leaving the house shutting the door quietly behind her.

* * *

A/N: Please don't kill me! I know that some people will be put off by how badly OCC I've written this chapter but I've given it my best shot!! Hope you enjoyed this chapter anyway… Please leave a review too! Whoa… This is one long chapter… O.o 


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8

* * *

**

A/N: this is in Lin's POV – since some people were asking for it so here it is… Please note that this is before the screaming match happens… you know what happened to Mai and Naru it kinda reminds me of this song called 'Thanks for the memories' By 'Fall Out Boy' if anyone bothers or have time or whatever you should check out the lyrics, you'll get it then.

* * *

This child… So much like Naru but obviously brought up by Mai. 

"Are you hungry?" I ask the child politely. He bites his lips and thinks for a moment before nodding his head.

"Would you like to go out for some food?"

"But… My mum…" He glanced at Naru's closed office door worriedly.

"She'll be fine. We'll just be gone for awhile." He reluctantly nods his head and walks over to the door quietly and waits for me. When I open the door for him he slips his small hand into mine as if that is the most natural thing to do. I feel awkward and I'm not sure what to do so I just let him hold onto my hand without holding his too much.

"Sir can we eat near by?" He asks me politely but embarrassed.

"That's fine. What do you wish to eat?"

"Anything." He says quickly.

"Why don't we just walk around here and see if there's anything you wish to eat." He nods his head in mute agreement and walks along side with me keeping up easily.

Outside it is getting dark and by the time Kenji finds something he would like to eat, the sky had taken on a dark blue colour. A soft bell rings above our heads as we enter a restaurant. Once we are seated and passed the menus, Kenji points to an item on the menu and asks me,

"Can I have that?" I order his food for him and as we wait he starts to get very impatient and fidgety. I just put it down to him being a kid. Then he says something that makes me change what I thought about him.

"Something bad is happening to my mum now… Can we hurry?" He looks genuinely worried and anxious.

"How do you know Kenji?" I ask him.

"Because every time something bad happens to my mum I can feel it. It scares me…" He whimpers.

"Your mum will be fine." I try to reassure him but he answers back with much pain.

"She won't! Not with _him_ around! I can feel it! Mum isn't getting any better! She's getting worse! Can we please go back now? It really hurts…" Kenji bends over and clutches his midsection tightly. Then slowly but surely all the metal items around him start to warp. Not just in shape but in their properties as well. The items nearest him melt but stay solid in the sense that it doesn't stick onto the tablecloth or anything else. The cutlery start to bend and buckle, some even snapping clean in half. This starts to draw some attention from near by customers who are noticing that _their_ cutlery is doing some weird things.

"Kenji! Are you doing this?" I demand. He scrunches his face up tightly and cries,

"I don't know… But it hurts!" He starts to bawl but it seems that the pain is getting too painful to even cry.

"We have to go." I mutter to myself, I pick Kenji up and carry him out of the restaurant running back to SPR. He is in _real _physical pain. How is this even possible? Upon returning I hear Mai screaming in anger in Naru's office. She's alive but she's angry. To add to that her son is in pain.

"…YOU TELL ME NARU!" Even though muffled I can still hear what she's saying. I set Kenji down on the couch and knocked on Naru's door loudly before barging straight in. It doesn't matter what is going on now but the person who needs the most attention at the moment is Kenji. When I open the door Mai is crying and Naru is trying to comfort her.

"Naru! Mai, Kenji is in pain." I say urgently, instantly Mai pushes Naru away and nearly knocks me over when she rushes out of his office. Fresh tear tracks still on her face, she picks up her son and holds him tightly. Ignoring everyone and everything except her son. Such is the power of a mother's love. Almost instantly Kenji's spasms of pain slowly dies down until he is no longer in pain but just a hurt and crying boy.

"What happened to him!" She demands angrily, cradling her son's head tightly into her chest.

"I don't know, he suddenly had a feeling you weren't alright and it just escalated from there. I rushed back as soon as I could."

"Where did you two go?" She demanded again, patting her son's back gently.

"Kenji was hungry so I brought him out for some food." She sighs and closes her eyes, hiding her face in her son's shoulder whispering a broken lullaby into his ear.

"_Cry my little baby, cry my little baby, there's nothing to be scared of. Mummy's here and nothing will harm you so cry and go to sleep."_

His breathing becomes even and he soon falls a sleep on his mother's shoulder. Tired from the whole day and now the last episode had drained him of all his energy.

"Has this ever happened?" Naru is the first to break the silence.

"Nothing this bad." She whispered, her face all pale and drawn. She hugs her son once more before kissing his cheek gently and placing him flat out on the couch to sleep. She leans back onto the couch and massages her tired head and tries to relax and calm down but to no avail. She opens her eyes tiredly and tells us.

"I have no where to stay tonight. Could I stay here with my son? Whatever happened near my home, I don't want to know. But I know I'm not returning there with my son. It's _dangerous_. I could feel it in my body, who knows what it'll do to Kenji if we stay there."

"I am not having you stay overnight here." Naru says in an almost controlling tone.

"Then where can I stay Naru? You know the danger. I know you _must_ know. You were near there!"

"I know." He says grimly.

"You can stay at my home. Just for tonight." I find myself saying almost impulsively. Mai will never agree to stay with Naru and Naru won't have her staying at the office. Although, I must admit I don't like the idea of her staying here by herself either. She glares at me but yields; she's too tired to even argue I'm sure. And she has her son to take care of.

"Thank you Lin." Naru gives me a sharp look.

"I'll leave my _Shiki_ with them." I say to Naru. He purses his lips and says nothing. "Naru," I say to him quietly, "there's something I need to talk to you about." He says not a word but walks into his office.

"Mai, I'll leave soon so that you can get some rest but I need to speak to Naru about something. Do you mind if you wait awhile?" She shakes her head, too tired to even speak now.

I shut the door quietly behind me and I walk up to Naru.

"Kenji; he bent and changed the _states_ of some cutlery when we were at the restaurant."

"Was that before or during the pain?"

"It was during, and only when the pain was too unbearable. I don't even think he was aware of what he was doing."

"We need to talk to Mai." He says decisively.

"Not at her current state." I tell him.

"Do you really take me for an idiot Lin?" He asks me coldly.

"I'll go now. I'm sure Mai would like some rest. I think you need some too." I leave his office and shake Mai up gently.

"Mai, we have to go."

"Hmm… OK… Do you mind carrying Kenji? I don't even think I can move myself at this present time…" She mummers. I gently pick Kenji up so I won't wake him and Mai struggles to get up. She stagers a little when she tries to walk but she quickly regains her balance and focus. Naru moves forward to hold her but I shake my head making him stop. Whatever happened between the two of them isn't for me to know but I know when Mai doesn't want to be touched.

I keep the door open for her before saying goodbye to Naru; she stumbles past me and leans heavily on the wall to wait for me.

"Mai I don't think you can walk by yourself." I say with much concern to her.

"No… I'll be fine Lin… Just look after Kenji… I'll pull myself together." Between each fragment she had to stop to rest. Even talking is getting too tiring for her. The office door suddenly opens and Naru is standing there almost livid with anger.

"Mai you are not going to 'pull it together' you are far too tired and sick to do anything like that. Will you just depend on people sometimes?"

"NARU!" I bark at him. I turn my attention back to Mai watching her worriedly.

"Maybe… maybe you're right… but I don't have any… Any…" she crumples onto the floor in a heap.

"MAI!" Naru immediately rushes to her side holding her shoulders. She is as limp as a rag doll and most likely heavier than she normally would be. Naru picks her up with ease and rushes down to the car park. I hurry after him and find Naru settling her in the back seat of the car.

"Those two need to sleep. A lot of sleep. I'll go with you to help you carry them in." and just like that Naru is back into his efficient operative self. I think any more emotional stress would just snap him. He's at his limit already. I gently set Kenji down next to his mother and shut the door as quietly as I can. Naru is already waiting for me in the front passenger seat, frowning with his eyes closed.

On the way back Naru asks me quite obviously hurt and confused.

"Why didn't she tell me? I spent so long just _wondering_ and that was the worse thing I had to go through. It kept tormenting me."

"Maybe you already have the answers, you just aren't looking hard enough Naru." I tell him quietly. "Remember that Mai had to go through that too. It was even worse for her. She had a child to look after and their social security. Think about what she went through Naru."

"Now I'm the bad guy."

"I'm not blaming you. I just want you to think." We spend the rest of the ride in silence.

---

I carry Kenji up to a guest room and Naru follows me setting Mai down on the bed next to her son.

"I…" For once in the long time I've known Naru he is speechless. He looks at their sleeping forms and for a long time he just stands there and says nothing.

"You are most welcome to stay Naru." I tell him breaking the silence. He shakes his head and tells me without taking his eyes off them,

"They need space. I need space. I'll see you at work." He leaves without another word. I pull the covers down and tuck them in leaving a lamp on just in case Kenji or Mai woke up in the middle of the night.

I turn off the main lights and close the door leaving it ajar if anyone of them needed to find their way out at night.

---

Mai slept for almost two days before waking. On the second day I happed to be in her room to change the drinking water when she stars to stir. Naru decided not to mention Mai to anyone yet as she still needs to recover, everyday after we finished for the day on the case Naru would come straight here before doing anything else.

"Mai…" She frowns and slowly comes to.

"L.. Lin…?" Her eyes focuses in and out before it settled.

"Have some water." She slowly sits up and accepts the water from me.

"Where am I…? What happened?"

"You're at my house at the present moment. You were so tired so slept for almost two days. If you still hadn't come round by this evening we would have sent you to the hospital."

"Two… Two days?! But – but – but my job! Kenji's school!" She holds her head in her hands and moan in despair.

"Naru fixed it. He called in for you. And Kenji. But you'll won't be well enough to return back to work tomorrow."

"I _need_ to work Lin! You don't know how important it is!" She is near hysterics now and her son is stirring next to her.

"Calm down Mai! You'll wake Kenji." She takes in a deep breath and tries to calm down.

"What did Naru say?" She asks with her eyes closed possibly thinking up the worse case scenario.

"I don't know. You'll have to ask him. Mai, calm down. I'll get you something to eat."

"OK…" She leans back and turns to her son. Just before I leave the room I turn around and find her tending to her son. She pushes some of his hair off his face and a small smile crept out. I knew she'd be a good mother. I return with some plain porridge and pass her the bowl.

"Are you feeling OK for some porridge?"

"Yeah… I'll be fine…" She starts eating the porridge and quickly finishes it. I look at the wall clock and it reads nearly five in the evening. He'll be here soon. As if on cue he pushes the door open gently, a look of relief floods his face when he sees her awake and sitting up.

"Naru." I greet him but he doesn't spare me a glance and only looks at Mai.

"Mai. You're awake." I pick up her empty bowl and leave the room discreetly firmly shutting the door behind me.

They'll come down when they're done. For now all I can do is give them space.

* * *

A/N: I have to drag this out a little more because I have to resolve half of their problems before I go into any new problems -.- so sorry about that! If anyone is finding that the story is dragging I'm terribly sorry!! I'll make it move by the next chapter!! I haven't been able to make anything move much because I've been doing the story as seen by different characters so yeah… we don't get to know much about what the two main characters are thinking, so sorry everyone! But for the next few chapters I'll either be telling it in Mai or Naru's POV as that moves the story along _much_ faster!! on a brighter note, we now know what Kenji can do -.o please leave a review too! i'd like to know if you guys think i should just 'hurry it on ALREADY!' or if you feel that this pace is just fine... 


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9

* * *

**

Naru… I have never seen him look this way before. _Maybe if you stuck around and told him about Kenji you would have._ I push that thought away and close my eyes.

"Mai… How are you feeling?" My side of the bed sinks in as he sits down.

"I'm fine." I reply using the most generic answer I can come up with. I swallow a lump in my throat and turn my head away from him.

"Can you look at me Mai?" He asks me. It's different this time. He isn't demanding just asking.

"I don't need this. Why can't you just leave us alone?"

"I will not allow that." Cold steel decision cuts through my heart.

"Think about us Naru. Think about _me_." I suppress another lump and keep my eyes close.

"I would have done everything I could to help you and Kenji if you told me."

"For God's sake Naru! You were only nineteen! I was only seventeen! What was I supposed to do?! I couldn't go through an abortion. I couldn't – no." I open my eyes determination burning in my heart. "I _wouldn't_ do it." I remember then. When I was sitting blankly in the doctor's office to get the home pregnancy test confirmed and a nurse suggested I do an abortion. I felt sick and appalled. Not only that but furious. I will not kill my baby. I would do everything to protect it. I stare at Naru repeating myself.

"I _wouldn't_ do it Naru. He's my child. How can a _mother_ kill their own child?"

"I didn't say that you should have gotten an abortion Mai. I said that if I had known I would have done _anything_ you asked of me to help you. Mai please understand me." His eyes plead with me. His cold eyes are melting; begging to be forgiven. _Understand me. _Where have I heard that before?

"_If I promise to understand and accept you will you do the same for me?"_ A drunken Naru slurs that in my mind. One lone tear slips out and his hand brushes it away. His warm hand strokes the side of my face and more tears come leaking out from under my closed eyes. I rest my hand on his and choke out in between the lumps in my throat.

"You said that before." I open my eyes not bothering to wipe away the tearstains. I turn to look at Kenji sleeping peacefully and carefully brush his hair back.

"I love him so much." I say to no one in particular. "I don't know what I'd do without him… He's my whole life." I say simply. Kenji starts to wake and the first thing he says to me when he opens his eyes is,

"I love you mum…" I smile lovingly at him and kiss his forehead.

"I love you too Kenji. Are you hungry?"

"Mmm…" He nods his head and gives me doleful look.

"What's the matter?"

"What is _he_ doing here?" I laugh at the way Kenji said that.

"Don't be so rude Kenji!" I gently rebuff him.

"I don't blame him for hating me either." Naru says calmly.

"It doesn't mean that he can just say that so rudely."

"Do you really hate me Kenji?" Naru asks him ignoring me.

"I wouldn't but you keep making mum sick!" He holds onto my arm fearfully and shoots him an accusing glare.

"If I didn't would you keep hating me?" Kenji shakes his head slowly.

"Lets go get something to eat Kenji. Aren't you hungry?" I push the covers off and carry him in my arms. I leave the room without giving Naru another look.

Downstairs I find Lin busy at his laptop in the den.

"Lin, where's the kitchen?" He stands up abruptly,

"Mai, are you sure you feel OK?"

"Yes I'm fine. Stop treating me like an invalid! We're both very hungry now. Is there something in the kitchen I can make?"

"There's some eggs and some milk in the fridge but apart from that I don't have much. Madoka comes over sometimes and she leaves me some food. That's where the porridge came from."

"Madoka! I haven't seen her for awhile…" I miss her. That teacher of Naru's was the only one who could make him lose a verbal battle.

"Who's that mum?" Kenji asks me wrapping his arms around my neck.

"That's an old friend Kenji. Come on lets go see what I can make for us." I follow Lin into the kitchen and set Kenji down at the kitchen counter before going through the fridge and pantry pulling out anything that I can use.

"Would you like anything Lin?"

"No. I'll be fine. If you need me for anything I'll just be in the den."

"Are you sure you don't want anything? Something to drink? Tea? Anything?"

"Mai. I can look after myself. Take care of yourself and Kenji first before you do anything for anyone else." I sigh and pull out the frying pan from under the sink.

"Would you like an egg Kenji?" He eagerly nods his head and I heat up the pan over a medium fire oiling the surface of the pan before cracking an egg into the pan.

"Would you like anything Naru?" I ask without turning around.

"No." Comes his emotionless answer. I serve the egg on a plate to Kenji and watch him eat it ravenously.

"Do you want anything else Kenji?"

"Yes!" I giggle at his answer and ruffle his hair.

"OK but I'll have to buy some food. There isn't much to eat here at Lin's home." I stack the used utensils in the sink before filling one side up with warm soapy water. I start to wash the dishes when Naru takes up the space next to me picking up the soapy dishes and rinsing them.

"Thanks." I say absent-mindedly. I wonder what would be good to cook for Kenji; I hope there are fresh food stores near by…

"Don't you get tired?" His velvet voice startles me and I drop a dish back into the soapy water with a 'plop'.

"Tired?"

"Taking care of Kenji."

"It's worth everything he gives me. For that I suppose I should thank you too." I pause the washing of the dishes and turn to Naru, "I should thank you for giving me Kenji."

"I wished that you had told me."

"I'm not going over this again Naru. It's becoming like a broken record!"

"I'm done mum!" Kenji's cheerful voice floats over breaking the building tension between Naru and I. I turn away from Naru and pick up Kenji's plate and fork dumping them into the water to wash.

"Didn't you think I would like to take some responsibility and a choice to choose if I would want to take up the responsibility as well?"

"Well Naru, I just didn't want to force you to choose. You were _drunk_ when you fathered Kenji."

"It was my fault." His hands stop moving and I hear him exhale loudly.

"Can you STOP? Just stop. Stop going over spilt milk OK. It's no use. I can only look into the future and hope that Kenji has a good and happy life. It doesn't matter. Those consequences has happened and passed. I have Kenji now, I have a new life with my son." I wash Kenji's plate forcefully and drop the plate with a clatter into the other side of the sink to be rinsed.

"_Your _son?" I stop and sigh before looking at Naru.

"Yes, my son." His eyes are burning and there's a glint that I didn't know existed in him.

"Then he is equally _mine._"

"You weren't there at three AM changing his diapers. You weren't at his first day at pre-school. You weren't there on his first day at school. How can you say he is yours?"

"You didn't give me a choice did you Mai?" He throws the dish he was rinsing into the sink with a loud smash. "Good God Mai! What has happened to you?! You didn't even think about what I wanted! You didn't even think about giving me a choice!" The once calm and cool Naru I've ever known has his façade slipping slowly but surely.

"I thought Naru! I thought! I thought about it every waking moment, I dreamt about it every night! Everything I knew of you was that one, you were my boss, two, you hated being committed, three, you were the coldest person I had ever known and FOUR, you were barely an adult then! I was in an even worse position Naru! So forgive me if I had thought otherwise!" I drop the dish back into the water and wash the soapsuds off of my hands. Drying them on my clothes I announce,

"I'm going to buy some groceries." I walk into the den and ask Lin, "Where did you put my bag?" He passes me my bag and I take out my wallet.

"Kenji, you stay here. I'll just be gone for a little while OK?" I kiss him and head for the door. Kenji obediently stay put but gives me a distressed look.

"Mai, wait."

"Can I – can we not do this?" I shrug his hand off my shoulder and walk out the door. I hear his footsteps ringing out around the corridor as he runs to catch up with me.

"Mai," I walk faster and shrug his hand off my shoulder again; he grips my shoulder tightly and pulls me back to a stop.

"Mai, can you just listen to me?" Tears start to build up in my eyes but I'm not feeling anything else. It's almost like I've got an irritant in my eye and I'm just trying to get it out. I blink the build up of moisture away and the tears spill out. Quickly and angrily I dash them away.

"Why can't you give me a chance?"

"To what Naru? A chance to what? _Be_ a dad? Do you even know what it's like to be a parent? Do you even have the emotional depth to _be_ one? Do you know the pain? The – the," I struggle to find the right word and I find a thread of it somewhere in my heart and I hold it tight. "The _love_ you have to give unconditionally?"

"Would you just give me the chance to prove that I can?"

"I don't even know you…" I raise my hand to my mouth in shock. I can feel the blood slowly drain from my face. I don't know him at all but I still love him. Seven years of nothing and I still love him as much as the day I left. I keep on walking and Naru keeps up easily with me.

"Mai, I shouldn't bring this up now but it's important I know. It's about Kenji." My heart pounds and a tight sensation spread across my chest.

"Did you have any inkling that Kenji has PK?" My hands tremble slightly as I look at Naru and whisper my answer.

"Yes. I never thought it his PK abilities would be that great." I shut my eyes tightly and rub my face vigorously. "Naru. I need to buy some groceries. I want some time to breath so can we not talk about us. Or Kenji? I'm at my limit. I can't take any more. Please just either leave or stop talking about those two subjects."

He stays silent and just keeps accompanying me as I shop around in silence. It feels comfortable, almost effortless as I pick up groceries and deposit them into a basket that Naru hung on his arm. It was just so natural, I didn't even think about it. But I did and what horrifies me is that I feel as though we've done this countless of times before. I look into the basket and I find a tin of Kenji's favourite chocolate powder milk in there. Strange… I don't remember putting that in there…

"Naru, did I put that in?" I ask pointing to the drink.

"I did."

"How did you know…" I ask softly.

"I like that, I just don't ever make it a big show in front of other people."

"Kenji loves that. I always buy it for him…" I smile, "I thought you preferred tea Naru?"

"I do. I only drink this when I can't sleep. Tea contains caffeine and it'll be pointless to drink tea if I'm trying to sleep. I only like the tea you make anyway."

"You still remember?" I ask pleasantly surprised.

"I'll always remember. You were the only one who could make my tea taste that good."

"Two tea spoons of sugar." I say softly, biting back a smile. That's how I always gave Naru his tea and how I always gave Kenji his chocolate drink.

'_You always make good chocolate drinks mum. What do you put in it?'_

'_All my love Kenji.'_

All my love. Every cup I had ever made for him was with my love. We walk back to Lin's home in companionable silence, the hour of walking and shopping for food has calmed and relaxed me more than I have been for a long time. Naru has not touched me once, yet I feel as though he has his arms around me giving me comfort and warmth.

---

A harried Lin greets us at the door with Kenji tugging on his arm. I can't suppress my laughter on time and I burst out laughing. Poor Lin wouldn't know what hit him. I pass my shopping bags to Naru to pick Kenji up.

"Stop bothering Lin, you have been naughty haven't you?" I give Kenji an Eskimo kiss and hug him.

"I'm sorry Lin, but thanks for looking after him. I know he can be a handful, especially when he gets to know you." I let him down and he follows Naru into the kitchen.

"It's alright Mai…" He gives me a strained smile.

"So sorry Lin. What did that little monster do?"

"Nothing much, just took up my time." I clap my hands together and bow deeply to him.

"Thanks for looking after Kenji, and I'm so sorry I had to put you through such an ordeal."

"It's worth it. You're happier." Lin gives me one of his rare smiles and returns to the den to his work. I shut the door behind me and I walk into the kitchen. Slowing to a halt when I hear conversation.

"…My mum makes the best chocolate milk." Bless his soul. I smile at what Kenji says.

"Do you know what she puts in it?" Naru asks. I hear the rustling of plastic bags and cupboards being opened and closed.

"All her love." Kenji quotes me proudly. I cover my mouth and stifle a giggle from escaping.

"Mai, I know you're there." Naru's voice floats over and I turn myself in.

"So does anyone want to eat anything?" I ask cheerfully opening the cupboards and pulling out a box of tea and some sugar.

"I'll have some tea Mai." I look around for any teapots or cups and I find them hidden away behind some unused cookery pots.

"Mum…" Kenji tugs on my shirt.

"What is it honey?"

"I want to take a shower."

"Now?" He nods his head giving me a pathetically sad look. I sigh, can't be helped then.

"Naru, I'm going to give this dirty monster a shower. You'll have to wait for your tea. Unless you want to make it yourself."

"Go ahead. I'll just wait." I grimace.

"If you don't mind waiting 40 minutes to an hour I don't advise you to wait." I pick Kenji up and knock on Lin's office door.

"Sorry to bother you Lin, but do you have a towel and some clean clothes? Kenji wants to take a shower."

"It's in the linin cupboard next to the bathroom. I'll find something Kenji can wear." Lin returns shortly with a pretty large shirt.

"Sorry all my clothes are the same size…" I take the shirt gratefully from Lin.

"Thank you Lin. It doesn't matter; we're the ones taking up your house anyway. I should be the one saying sorry."

"Don't worry about it Mai. We all missed you, it's good to see you again." I smile at Lin before carrying Kenji into the bathroom. I close the door behind me and set the things on bench and tug up Kenji's shirt.

"Hands up." He obediently complies and lifts his arms up for me to pull the shirt off him. I toss it next to the towel on the bench and head to the showerhead to tinker around with the water trying to find a suitable temperature while Kenji removes his pants. I roll up my sleaves as high as they'll go.

"Come on Kenji." I pull him under the shower and splash his body with the warm water.

"Take a deep breath and hold it for a moment K?" He nods and holds his breath while I quickly rinse his hair. I set the running showerhead down for a moment to get some shampoo and soap. Kenji picks up the showerhead and promptly sprays water into my face.

"Kenji! Please don't wet me." I wipe my face on the rolled up sleaves and squeezed out some shampoo.

"But that's the point mum, you're meant to get wet."

"OK, OK, I just don't want to be soaking wet at the end of this. Here, soap yourself, I'll do your hair." I pass him the body soap and start working the shampoo into his hair while he soaps himself.

"You should be old enough to shower on your own Kenji." I tell him soaping his hair carefully so that none of the suds would get into his eyes.

"But he's there. I can't let you be alone with him." He mutters squelching the liquid soap through his little fingers.

"Stop playing with the soap! He's not that bad to mum. Why don't you like him Kenji?" I pick up the showerhead and start rinsing off the suds on his head.

"He's just mean to you mum! How can you stand being near him! And he makes me hurt too."

"Oh Kenji," I sigh rinsing the suds from his hair, "It's just too complicated, I don't even know the answer… Close your eyes." I quickly wash off the remaining suds off his head.

"Are you done soaping yourself?" I ask him noting that he is _still_ playing with the liquid soap.

"Yep!" I rinse his hands off first before moving methodically through his body making sure to wash off all the soap.

"OK! All done." I reach over and turn the water off. I pull the towel off the bench and open it out, Kenji walks into the fluffy material and using the towel I rub his body dry. I kiss the top of his damp head.

"All done. Now you smell nice. Here put on your pants, Lin didn't have anything that you would have fit in except the shirt." I pass him his clothes and he struggles to put on the clothes. I pick up the used towel and Kenji's dirty clothes before opening the bathroom door. The first thing I see is Lin running down the hallway.

"Lin? What's the matter?" He pauses and turns to me,

"Mai, stay here for awhile. Something just came up on the case, Naru just went and I'm going now too. We'll call you later. Don't go any where _near_ your house. At least for now. Please." He runs off and the front door is shut with a loud click.

"…But… come back safely Lin." I mummer at the closed door. Kenji holds my hand to get my attention.

"What happened mum? Where'd everyone go?"

"Work… Don't worry Kenji, they'll be back tonight…" I cross my fingers and hope that they do come back safely. I pick Kenji up kiss him.

"Mum," He tells me seriously.

"What is it Kenji?"

"You need a shower." I laugh and pinch his nose gently,

"You are very rude did you know that?" I sigh, "At least you're honest Kenji." I kiss him again and set him down.

"I think I'll go have that shower you told me to have. Behave yourself OK? Don't touch Lin's things, if you feel tired go back up and have a nap." I go into the guest room with Kenji following me and I find a set of clothes folded neatly on the bed.

"Bless him." I say mentally thanking Lin for being so thoughtful. I pick up the clothes and help Kenji up onto the bed.

"I'll just be gone for awhile OK? Have a little nap." He nods sleepily as I settle him into the bed giving him a kiss before heading down to the bathroom.

* * *

A/N: Yes! The story is going somewhere at last! Please leave a review too! They keep me inspired!! 


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10

* * *

**

"What did you find exactly Yasuhara?" I question him sternly, if he wasn't mistaken and I didn't hear wrongly it means that Mai and Kenji are in a very precarious situation.

"We found a note attached to one of the victim's possessions. At first I didn't think much of it but after reading it I don't think we can just brush this aside." He hands me the bloodied note that has been kept in a sealed clear bag.

_Not the end but the start. I will have my reward. Taniyama._

"But why is Taniyama san mentioned?" Yasuhara asks puzzled and confused as to why a co-worker who left years ago is dragged up in our case.

"We have to find Mai and warn her!" Houshou san declares.

"How do we know it's the same person? There must be more than one Taniyama in the whole of Japan." Masako san questions aloofly. Of everyone she seems to be the only one who at the time didn't seem too concerned that Mai had left us so abruptly.

_Because that very same 'Taniyama' is in Lin's home at the present moment looking after my son, who also lived in the next apartment from the victim's._

I hold back the words that threaten to spill over and concentrate on the note instead. No doubt that the note is referring to Mai and or Kenji, but I don't understand; why now? Of all the times this could have happened it happens now. There has to be someone or _something _behind this.

"The original spirit which killed Mr. Ichinose is not acting on its own. It's being controlled. But by what? And why?" I think harder and stare at the note.

"How did you come to that conclusion Naru?" Houshou san asks me taking the note from me to scrutinise it further.

"The note. It's telling us that this will happen again. Usually a singular spirit no matter how enraged will not commit a second offence unless it is being controlled and played. Manipulated if you will, by another higher being of greater mental and possibly spiritual strength." Madoka walks in then and waves a stack of papers around.

"I did all the research you've asked me to Naru, and I don't have anything about the guy killed, about the apartment block OR any stories relating to that particular area. I did however find a stack of information and data relating to a similar incident that happened about fifty years ago." She dumps the papers on the coffee table and drops herself onto the couch, relaxing and leaning back to stretch out her spine.

"Woo!" She exhales loudly, "Someone get me some tea already! I've been running dead on my feet for the last three days just gathering your information for you." Lin passes her a teacup and picks up the papers quickly leafing through them.

"Naru, you might want to read through these. There is some very interesting information there." Lin passes me the stack of papers and I take it from him.

"Hmm… Nice tea Lin, where'd you learn to make it? It's almost like Mai's only just a little off." My spine goes rigid and my whole body clams up. She doesn't even know about the note yet or about Mai, why did she mention her?

"Do you know anything about Mai?" Lin asks nonchalantly.

"No, I just thought about her. That's all." She says cheerfully. I breathe a sigh of relief turning my attention back to the information that Madoka has gathered for me. I quickly scan the pages and start making mental links between our current case the previous case. Both cases have had a notification of about the same thing, only that the last time it involved a well-known psychic of phenomenal powers. If we don't do anything about this case, Mai or Kenji might just end up being the next victim. I grit my teeth and announce to everyone.

"If we don't solve this case then expect the worse. Madoka tell them what happened on a similar case that happened several years ago."

"Well fifty years ago, police were confronted with almost the exact same case we have here now. The first victim had seemingly imploded and a note similar to the one we found was also found at the crime scene. Both notes name a physic to some level of power. The first victim did not have any physic powers, however in a time frame of about a month the named psychic on the first note was killed. This time the victim had the heart carved out; the cause of death is unknown."

"NARU!" Lin's eyes flare open in shock but mostly in anxiousness. I got it immediately. I throw the papers onto the table and rush out the office running into the car park unlocking and getting into the driver's seat. I don't bother waiting for Lin he'll come soon. Mai is in trouble.

I speed all the way to Lin's house. It doesn't matter how many tickets or fines I'll get, I just hope that Mai is holding on.

_Please be all right when I get there Mai._

---

"MUM!" Kenji screams and I can hear fear in his voice. I throw on my shirt over my still wet body and run up to him. He is so pale when I come up; he has been sweating a lot as well giving his face a waxy sheen.

"Oh! Kenji, what happened?" I run to his side and hug him tightly.

"Th-there's something…"

"Where? Kenji! Tell me where!" I demand urgently, wiping the sweat off his face and pushing back damp strands of hair stuck to his face.

"In my dream… there was something trying to hurt us…" He shuts his eyes close tightly and clench over rolling tightly into a ball. I turn my attention over to the clock on the bedside table. The hands on the clock have been warped and the time is stopped exactly at eight forty. He did that in his sleep? Oh my dear, you must have really hurt… I hug him tighter and burry my head into his shoulder. Then I start to feel it. The deep gnawing feeling in my gut slowly moving up to my heart making me feel nauseous. Something bad is coming and it's very, very hostile.

"Kenji whatever happens, don't ever let go of me." I whisper fiercely into his ear holding him tightly. I hear a sharp whistle and something white flashes at the corner of my eye. That'll be Lin's _Shiki_, but how long will they be able to hold out? I bite down on my lip and hide Kenji's face in my shoulder.

"MAI! KENJI! WHERE ARE YOU?!" I lift my head when I hear Naru calling for us.

"Naru…" I whisper, relief flooding my whole body. He slams the door open, his eyes widen in relief for a moment before contracting in concentration.

"Mai, you have to get out of here!"

"I KNOW! But I can't move in case something happens to Kenji!"

"I'll take care of him, Mai just go!" He hurries over to my side, "Trust me Mai. Please." I bite my lip and tell Kenji,

"Please follow what Naru tells you to Kenji. He can protect you more than I can. I'm so sorry honey." He gives me a brave look as I kiss him and try to get up but my legs feel like they've been rooted to the bed. I cry out in alarm.

"Naru! I can't move! My legs won't move!!" He grimaces,

"Kenji can you still move?" He nods his head and scrunches up his face.

"Mum… it hurts… something bad… like in my dream…"

"I know honey, I know… Naru! Do something! I can't move and Kenji can't do anything!"

"Lin's _shiki_ didn't block that one on time. If you weren't covering Kenji, he would have gotten it." The door slams shut on it's own and the barrier between us and whatever is trying to get in bursts through the broken gap that Lin's _shiki_ had built.

"NARU! MAI!" Lin's muffled shouts and pounding from behind the door is urgent as he tries to be heard. "My _shiki_ can't protect you any more. This is more powerful than I'd have ever thought possible. Naru, I'm sorry but I can't help you any more. That spirit has sealed this room inside and out, I'll try my best to break through and I'll call for everyone to help but I can't guarantee anything."

The room starts to wrap and everything distorts.

"Naru, what's happening?" I ask, panic rising in my chest. I can feel the build up of energy around us, it's not coming from Naru, and it's not coming from Kenji. It's an unknown source that I can't pin point nor can I identify.

"The spirit, whatever it is, is gathering it's energy and soon if I don't do anything about it we'll be flat pancakes. If I'm not mistaken it's going to do what it did fifty years ago."

"FIFTY YEARS AGO?! How do you even know it's the same thing?"

"It's the same case, the same spirit from the same origin. There's no mistaking it. I'm sorry to ask you of this Mai, but you'll have to put up with the energy that's going to go around. I'll try my best to protect you and Kenji but I'll have to beat this spirit if we are going to get out alive."

"How are you going to determine – " Writing start appearing on the walls of the room in a deep red colour. A smell like iron filters into my nose and I gag myself to stop the nausea from rising.

_My reward is here. I shall have what I deserve._

I hide Kenji's face in my shoulder to prevent him from reading the words on the wall. A light hazy film starts to coat Naru and I can feel the energy steadily rise in the room. Kenji starts to cry in pain and more items around us warp.

"Hold on Kenji, please just hold on." I whisper to him holding him tightly willing some of his pain to be mine.

The air is so thick and sticky I can barely breath, the amount of psychic energy and power going around is nearly too much for me to handle. Kenji is still crying in pain, I can feel him emitting large amounts of energy and they keep coming in waves. Compounding to that Naru is also producing so much energy. It's almost unbearable but I have nowhere to go, the spirit has sealed off the whole room.

"Naru…" I chough trying to breath in the heavy air. He doesn't answer but I can feel a steady increase in his energy, the pressure in my ears is getting very painful and my ears are starting to ring. I can feel him nearly over powering the spirit but he's reached his limit, they are both on par but Naru can't push his powers any more. I hold on tightly to Kenji and pray that he will get out of this alive. I can feel his pain getting more intense and I feel it in my heart, it's squeezing and twisting inside me.

I can't hold on any more, it's too much. I can't protect my baby any more. I've failed as his mother. I let bitter tears of sadness and pain slip out before whispering into his ear,

"I love you Kenji…" I slip like in quicksand into the deep murkiness of unconsciousness.

---

Mai just passed out. I bite back my worry and anger for now, the fact that Kenji is just adding energy into the room with no real focus is just hindering me even more and that is probably what contributed to Mai passing out. I need to push past my limit… But I can't… Kenji!

"Kenji! Come here for a moment please!" I plead with the little boy. He shakes his head furiously, refusing to leave his mother.

"Kenji, please I need your help! I know it hurts but if you want to help your mum you have to trust me." He bites his lip in indecision before standing up on wobbly legs and taking my out reached hand. I'm surprised by the amount of power he is directly giving off. Mai was holding onto him so she would have gotten the full brunt of it. I don't blame her for passing out.

"Kenji, I want you to concentrate really hard on my hand you're holding on. I know it hurts a lot but please concentrate as hard as you can." He bites down hard on his lip and stares at my hand. Slowly I can feel his power shrinking down to a point on my hand. I release it into my flow of power and it slowly gains more strength.

A sharp wail starts in the room but I push my powers some more. _Anything for Mai and Kenji. I will do anything. To protect the ones who matter to me, anything is the right price._

The wail turns into a piercing scream and Kenji's hand tightens around mine, it would probably hurt but under these circumstances I can't feel anything except concentrating all my energy on over powering this spirit. At that moment the door breaks open splinters flying everywhere, the scream suddenly stops and all I can feel is Kenji's and my powers circulating around the room.

Lin and Houshou san are standing at the door both very exhausted from trying to break through. I slowly reduce my powers but as I lower mine Kenji suddenly collapses to the floor his hand still in mine.

"Naru, what happened?" Lin demands taking in the scene before him. I shake my head as the weariness claiming me. As my powers reduce fatigue replaces it and my legs fold under my weight and my body falls onto the floor next to Kenji's. Too tired to talk and too tired to move. I close my eyes and tighten my hold on Kenji's hand; to stop myself from drowning into nothingness or to stop Kenji from being lost I don't know.

* * *

A/N: this is a shorter chapter I know, but it is pretty important. The next part is probably the one where most of you've been waiting for and that's the part where everyone else finds out about Mai and Kenji. Please remember that Lin still doesn't know that Kenji is Naru's son as well. And please leave a review!! They help me think a lot faster and better too!! 


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

A/N: I'm surprised that many people thought that Lin knew about Kenji being Naru's son… in chapter 9 they left before they heard anything remember? I think Lin has some idea but since I won't be writing in his POV any time soon we'll just have to wait and see.

* * *

I wake slowly and a dull ache and throb starts some where in my body spreading quickly and mercilessly across my whole body, I suppress the ache and force myself to open my eyes. Several severely distorted figures hover around me as I try to get my focus back.

"Lin…" I mutter, identifying the first figure.

"Naru, how are you feeling?"

"Fine… Where's Mai?" I try to sit up but a sharp stabbing pain in my body stops me from moving. I wince and slowly lower myself back onto the bed.

"She's fine, she's just resting up in another room with Kenji." Lin informs me. My head clears and I can identify everyone in the room. Everyone had a sober face on. Even Madoka looks like she's at someone's funeral. I turn to Lin and ask him,

"I take that you've told everyone about Mai?" He nods his head once, and everyone turns to me expectantly. Madoka is the first to break the silence.

"Why didn't you tell us about Mai when you first found her?"

"I just found her, I don't even know what I should do. She was so exhausted; I just let her rest and sleep it off. I didn't know things were going to take such a turn." I close my eyes to block out the light that is starting to give me a headache. "Have you seen her?" I ask in general, not opening my eyes.

"Yes." Come the mummers.

"She hasn't even recovered from her first shock and now she has to get over this one. I didn't want to put any more pressure on her by telling you guys. I haven't even talked to her about that."

"Even asleep she looks strained; Naru tell me what's going on?" Houshou san asks anxiously.

"I'm… we'll resume this when I don't feel like I'm on the brink of death." I close my eyes shut and welcome the darkness.

---

It was a very peculiar sensation when I saw Mai and her son. Mai looks almost the same as she did seven years ago with the exception of all those marks and lines on her face telling the world of her strains. Her son sleeping soundly in the next bed, almost the perfect blend between his mother and Naru. Stabs of jealously ravage my heart as I watch him sleep. Why was Mai chosen over me? I don't quite see why she is so much better than I ever was and ever will be. It's quite plain to me that he was Naru's child, but I wonder why everyone hasn't made that connection yet. I steal a glance at Lin and I'm pretty sure he's worked that out already but he isn't letting anyone in on the secret. To get Lin to tell you something he doesn't want to share would be like trying to get blood out from a rock.

I turn away from them and walk stiffly out of the room hiding my face in the sleave of my kimono. Lin follows me out in silence, once outside I turn to him.

"He's – " Before I can finish Lin cuts me off.

"I know. I guessed from the start but nothing can be confirmed until either Mai or Naru tells us. For now we'll keep our opinion to ourselves." Madoka exits from the ward and walks towards us.

"That boy, does he…?" She asks us uncertainly.

"Do you feel that way too Madoka?" Lin asks her gravely and she nods in confirmation.

"We've have had our suspicions as well, I suppose it's just waiting for Naru or Mai to confirm that with us." Bou san says, adding to the conversation as he steps out of the ward with Ayako behind him.

"I'm just glad that she's safe and she's been found." Bou san admits with a sigh of relief. "We'll need to call John to fly over as soon as he can. He'll be so happy that we've found Mai. It's great that Mai's back, with someone special as well."

I leave the group quietly and take a seat in the waiting room, just stewing in my own thoughts.

Why do I feel so jealous over Mai and Naru? Is it coming from my attraction and attachment to Naru? I think it is, but there's something wrong about that… I can't help but feel that I'm wrong in that deduction. Its not like I can say I love him, but I am very attached and fond of him… If that isn't it then what is it? Why am I still feeling jealous after so many years? I've gotten very successful, rich, famous, but why do I still envy Mai? I wish I could say that it's because she has and always will have Naru's affections, but that isn't the main reason. There's something nagging me…

"What's with the look Masako?" Bou san takes the seat next to mine and leans back. Age has taken its toll on him and fine grey hairs are starting to show at his temples along with fine lines creasing his face where all his emotions have shown.

"Nothing… just thinking."

"Still jealous about Mai eh?" I turn sharply at his flippant comment.

"It – it – it's not that!" I blush and look away. I can't be that transparent can I? I'd like to think that I'm more mature and sensible than Mai is.

"Be happy with your lot Masako. Because what other people have come at a very high price, which you might find that you can never pay. Mai's price is probably one of the highest she'll ever have to pay. She's had to pay with her whole life, all her energy and attention is her payment. And she can't stop. She has an eternal responsibility, that maybe you understand maybe you don't. Either way the price we pay for everything we have is set to what we can give. She can pay the price of what she has; therefore she has what she has. I'm not saying you have any less than she does, or that your abilities are of a lesser value than hers. On the contrary, I'm just saying that whatever we can pay we are given. In life it's always a give-take relationship."

Bou san is right of course; I would never be able to devote my life, my being to another person. If I had to it'll be chains shackling me, as a punishment for taking what I can't pay for. But I suppose I envy Mai for being able to pay the price that asks her of her everything.

"She's amazing isn't she?" I ask, not particularly aiming the question to Bou san.

"And you think that is because?" Bou san asks me kindly.

"She can care so much for another person, even giving everything she has. And yet still live a life, doing all this on her own no less."

"Don't you think she's getting tired now?" I turn to Bou san. I finally realise my true feelings as to why I envied Mai.

"Yes," I whisper, "That's why she came back. No that's why she was _brought_ back."

"You understand now don't you?" He asks me in a fatherly way and I nod my head.

"But I still envy her." I admit with jealousy.

"Why is that Masako?"

"Because she has someone to love, and the whole world to love her." I reach up to my face and I'm surprised to find a clear liquid roll down my face.

"Wh… - wha… - what's this?" I swipe my hand across my cheek and I feel wet liquid collect on my hand.

"You're crying."

"No I'm not!" I deny furiously, "Why would I be crying?" I ask him defiantly.

"Because you feel sad?" Bou san offers and passes me a box of tissues. I pull out a few tissues and wipe my face with it, blotting my eyes.

"Why would I feel sad?" I ask ridiculing the notion that I'm sad.

"Because you feel that you have no one and no one will love you?"

"Rubbish." I mutter but more tears slide down my face and I know he's right. I pull out a watery smile and say to him,

"I think I know now why Mai liked you so much." I snivel pathetically, even _I_ sound pathetic to myself. How bad must I sound to Bou san?

"You aren't alone you know. You've got everyone here. Even Naru. We're a family, in some weird distorted way. But we're still a family, and families don't abandon their own do they?"

"No, I don't suppose they do." I sigh and wipe off the last of my tears.

"Thank you Bou san. I'm sorry for troubling you."

"That is what family is for Masako. Come on, wipe that miserable look off your face and give me a smile." He smiles at me and I can't help but smile back. It's not such a bad thing I suppose, being in a family.

* * *

A/N: I'm not too sure if I should add on the next bit with this, but I decided against it since the next one is very different to this chapter. I know this is terribly short – just mainly about Masako, it didn't quite turn out the way I had originally planned it… (I don't suppose a lot of things go to plan…) but I found writing Masako having a heart attack over Kenji being Mai's and Naru's son a bit too OOC. So I just had this chapter where she just tells all basically, I also thought that the moment the SPR team sets eyes on Kenji they'd make an instant connection, I mean come on! More than half of them are psychics and the remaining two or three people are smart enough with an IQ of above 100. Also this chapter makes her a little more mature – for her to act like a 16 year old when she's 24 just isn't going to cut it. No matter how badly I wanted her to do that… maybe I should do an omake : P Anyways I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a review too! Thanks for all the reviews I've been getting! It's helping me write and keep inspired! Also thanks to the school holidays I can devote more of my time to writing my fics.

This is the first time in about a week i was able to post this chapter as FF has been really unco-opterative recently... anyways, the next update should come out soon, that is if this allows me to upload documents at a later date... i was orginally supposed to upload this about a week ago but it wouldn't load my document for some reason...


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

A/N: spoilers in this chapter – post anime – into the novels and such. You have been warned!

* * *

I slowly stir as the light coming in burns my eyes behind closed eyelids, as I open my eyes I see several familiar figures around me. I blink a few times to clear my eyesight. I gasp in surprise.

"Bou san!?" I'm more surprised to see him than I am to question why he's here.

"Mai! You're awake!" He bends down and hugs me tightly, squashing my arms.

"Ow, ow, ow…" I wince and he lets me go quickly standing back beaming happily at me.

"Sorry Mai, I'm so happy to see you awake! And here!" I struggle to sit up and Bou san helps me up pulling my pillow up behind me.

"What's everyone doing here?" I ask almost in disbelief as I scan all the familiar faces.

"You were badly injured Mai." Lin tells me pouring me some water, I accept it from him and say,

"I didn't think I was that hurt… Naru!" I suddenly remember him. He must be in a worse situation than I am in at the moment. "How is he?" I ask anxiously.

"He's doing fine. I just went to check up on him." Lin informs me, taking back the empty glass from me. All of a sudden I feel so very shy and self-conscious… What do they think of me now? Have they found out about Kenji? I fiddle with the bed sheets and avoid eye contact with everyone. I turn my head to the right and in the next bed over I see Kenji sleeping peacefully.

"How has everyone been all these years?" I ask, unsure of wether I should be asking them that.

"Right now what matters is how _you've_ been doing." Ayako tells me bluntly.

"Ayako!" Bou san chides her; I shake my head and look up.

"No, she's right. I owe you all an explanation. But right now I don't think I could give you a right explanation, or rather a proper explanation. I think if you can wait a few more days, I can give you a sufficient explanation. A proper explanation. That's what I mean." I'm so tired now… What's happening to me? I just talk for a few minutes and I feel like I've been awake for three days in a row. I lean back into the pillow, close my eyes and let out a deep sigh.

"I'm sorry everyone…" I mumble but force myself to finish, "I'm so tired now… I'll…"

"Go sleep Mai." I hear Bou san's comforting voice allowing me to fall asleep.

---

The following two days I spent in bed and Kenji is the first to be allowed out of bed by the doctors and nurses. Even he is a mystery to the medical staff. Though he is the youngest, he had sustained the most injury to himself age wise but had shown signs of a quick recovery almost the next day in hospital. When he woke up it was as if nothing had happened, they ran tests and checks but found him to be in perfect health.

Currently, he's sitting next to me on my bed holding my hand.

"Hey honey, how was your sleep?"

"It was good." He regards me with solemn eyes and asks me, "I shouldn't tell anyone what happened right?" I nod my head and reach up slowly to ruffle his hair.

"Don't tell any of the doctors or nurses OK?" He nods his head and crawls closer to me before snuggling into me. I kiss the top of his head and pull him in closer forming a safe enclosure around him.

"I wish they didn't have to put so many things into you mum…" He says as he plays with the IVF tubes.

"I wish too Kenji…" I sigh and lean my head against his. "It makes me feel worse than I really am…"

"You'll be fine mum." He kisses the back of my hand and holds onto it.

"I hope they let me out of bed soon…" I say to myself, a soft knocking comes from the door and I call out, "Come in, it's open." Bou san cautiously pokes his head in as he looks around.

"Bou san, it's nice to see you again. Is the motley crew with you?" Kenji tightens his hold on me and I can feel him pull my arm closer to himself. I sigh inwardly; I hope that Kenji won't think of every new person he meets from my past as an alien. Bou san shakes his head and comes in closing the door behind him quietly.

"I'm alone, Ayako and the rest are either resting or do their daily work."

"Hmm, that's good…" I say absent-mindedly, "Oh, take a seat! That was rude of me not to offer you a seat." I try to get up but Bou san waves me back down, I don't have much choice anyway. Kenji is still holding onto me.

"How are you feeling today Mai?"

"I'm good." I answer amiably, to be given a response from Kenji. "Ouch! Kenji stop griping my arm so tightly!" His grip lessens noticeably on my arm.

"He's a little _over_ protective." I explain apologetically to Bou san, he laughs warmly and with much jest,

"I see, that was the reason why he was giving me killer looks when I came in."

"Kenji!" I reprimand him; he gives me a killer puppy look.

"But…" He whines sadly at me.

"No buts." I growl playfully at him.

"Haha, Mai I think I can see where he got that from."

"Got what?"

"His over-protectiveness." Bou san takes a sip from his disposable cup and sets it down next to him.

"You think I'm over-protective?" I ask him confusion all over my face; he shakes his head with obvious mirth.

"Not you. Naru. He may not seem to be it, but he's fiercely protective of everything that matters to him." I pale and fight to gain some composure.

"So you all know then…?"

"Nope. Just putting two and two together. Everyone sorta unofficially know but until you tell us we're just going to put that down as speculation."

"Oh…" I sigh; it's no use hiding it now, everyone knows; well they guessed but it's the right guess.

"You tell us when you're ready. For now we won't even mention it, not until you do. OK?"

"Thanks Bou san. You always had a way to make things right again for me…" A soft knock comes from the door and Bou san gets up to open the door for me.

"Hello Taniyama san, I see you're feeing better." The doctor comes in with his clipboard and stands next to my bed.

"Must be all the sleeping I did I suppose." I say trying for a weak joke, the doctor smiles at the effort and turns his attention to Kenji.

"So, Kenji kun you're keeping your mother acompanied?" He nods his head and burries himself closer to me.

"Sorry, he's a little shy at the moment."

"That's fine, I have some good news for you." He says cheerfully, flipping to a page in his clipboard.

"What is it?" I eagerly ask.

"You're well enough to leave your bed, but I recommend that a nurse be with you when ever you're out of bed. Other than that, you'll have to stay at the hospital for another day or two so we can make sure that nothing happens."

"Is that all doctor?" I ask, keeping my happiness in check.

"Yes, I'll send in a nurse for you later if you wish to leave the bed." He turns to leave but I call him back.

"Doctor?" I call out to him uncertainly.

"Yes?"

"Do you know how Shibuya san is?"

"No, I'm afraid that he's not under my care." He says sympathetically before closing the door behind him. I sigh and lean back into my pillow letting Kenji play with my hand.

"Do you want to see him?" Bou san asks me breaking the silence that had settled around us.

"See who?" I ask a little dazed from being so abruptly jolted from my stupor.

"Naru, would you like to see him?" Bou san repeats patiently.

"Oh… yes, I would but I don't think I can go now…"

"Why not? I can call for a nurse."

"It's not really that important anyway…" I say making up excuses not to see him.

"Someone is scared…" Bou san grins at me.

"I'm not!" I protest feebly, Kenji picks up his head and asks me quizzically,

"Scared of what mum?"

"Seeing Naru chan." Bou san explains to my son rather bluntly.

"What would she be…?" He starts off innocently before i cut him off shooting daggers at Bou san.

"Shhhh!!" I hiss at Bou san, "That's enough rubbish you're feeding my son!" Hot colour rises up to my cheeks as I try to suppress my embarrassment in front of my son. He grins back at me,

"So you want to see Naru?" I scowl at him,

"Yes." I bite out icily. If he wants to challenge me he'll get his challenge.

"Great! I'll call the nurse." He says cheerfully before leaving the room to call the nurse. He returns a short while later with a nurse and a wheel chair, the nurse smiles at Kenji and I before saying,

"It's good that you're going to get out a little." She unlocks the side of the bed to allow me to get out easily. Kenji jumps off the bed and waits patiently for me next to Bou san. I take a hold on the nurse's arm and slowly lift myself off the bed. For a moment the blood rushing in my head blinds me and I stay still for a while to wait for the spots to clear.

"Thanks." I say weakly to the nurse, helping me into the wheelchair. She untangles some IVF tubes, arranging them onto a portable hanger before pushing me towards the door.

"Do you know where you're going or would you like me to accompany you?" She asks us kindly.

"We know where to go, I'll take her there. We'll be fine, thanks for all the help." Bou san says taking over from her, she nods and smiles at us before leaving me under Bou san's care.

"I really do hope you know where you're going and you're not just lying." He gives me a fake wounded look.

"I'm hurt that you doubt me Mai." Kenji climbs up onto my lap and sits there.

"Lazy bum." I tease Kenji as Bou san starts to push us in the direction of the elevator. He pushes the button for the ICU and waits patiently as the elevator is called up.

"Was he hurt that badly?" I ask looking at the lights move up.

"Not any more. They've just kept him there just to make sure nothing bad happens." The elevator arrives and Bou san wheels us in pressing the close button. For the whole way there neither of us says anything, for some reason I can feel a building tension in my body and it keeps rising as we get closer and closer to the ward in which Naru is in.

When Bou san knocks on the door, Naru's calm voice floats over allowing us in. Bou san pushes the door open with one hand while wheeling us in with the other.

"Yo, Naru chan! You have some visitors today." He quickly puts down the papers he was reading.

"Mai? What are you doing out of bed? You should be resting!"

"The doctor let me out. He said I was OK to go about but I'll be staying at the hospital for a while longer. How've been doing?"

"I'm fine."

"I'm going to get a drink does anyone want anything?" Bou san announces loudly.

"I'll have some coffee please." I request turning around to look at him.

"Do you want anything Kenji? Naru?" Both shake their heads, the latter of the two asking me,

"I didn't know you like coffee Mai."

"Well it's a good pick me up for the mornings, I haven't had a cup of coffee since I was admitted." Bou san wheels me closer to Naru's bed before leaving to get the drinks. I wrap my arms around Kenji's mid-section and hold him down hugging him unconsciously.

"I have just realised that Bou san came up with a perfectly see through excuse to leave us together alone." Naru observes looking at Kenji then moving his eyes up to watch me.

"Not totally alone." I say, shifting Kenji up to stop him from slipping down but he is struggling to get out of my hold.

"What is it Kenji? Stop squirming!"

"Let go of me, I want to sit on the bed. There's more space there." I sigh and let him go watching him as he climbs up onto Naru's bed. Naru shifts some of his papers to the side and makes some space for Kenji as he takes up a portion of his bed.

"Sorry Naru."

"It's fine." He brushes my apology aside and turns to Kenji asking him, "So I'm forgiven?"

"Nope. I just wanted more space. It's too cramped were mum is."

"You are really blunt aren't you?" Naru asks him dryly.

"You're one to talk!" I say, disbelief colouring my voice and facial expression. I sigh and lean back into the wheelchair,

"He's a lot more like you than I'd like to ever admit. What are we going to tell everyone? I've just spoken to Bou san and it seems that everyone has guessed it already." Kenji steals a pillow from Naru and cuddles into it, I watch him silently as he quickly falls asleep.

"I knew he was going to do that." I shake my head and turn to Naru. "So what do you want to tell them?"

"The truth, what else is there to tell?"

"There's going to be a lot more than just telling the truth. What about Kenji?"

"Tell him about me?"

"My seven year old currently doesn't trust you nor does he like you very much, I also have a sneaking suspicion that he is fending off every body from getting my attention. For so long all we ever had was the two of us. I don't think he likes the idea that he'll have to share my attention with someone else."

"Well, we're going to have to do something about that." Naru says plainly.

"You can't just make a seven year old child just change over night. He's never had a dad before and he's never had the chance to be in such a big family. Whatever you're planning it better involve a lot of time and energy. And I mean _a lot _of energy. I don't know how I did it; how I managed to keep up with him all these years."

"I'll do it. I'll find a way to get his trust." He looks at me and asks me quite unexpectedly, "Do _you_ trust me Mai?" I am taken a back for a moment before coughing out the answer.

"Y-yes, I suppose I do."

"'You suppose'? What does that mean?" Naru demands, a little too sharply. I wince – I don't think I missed that part of him that much.

"You did save me and Kenji from death, so I trust you there. But there are…" I pause for a moment to find the right word. However that word is being elusive so I settle for the second best. "There are… Grey areas… where I don't really know if I can trust you…" My reason isn't enough for Naru; I can see that much reflected in his eyes.

"You want to know the truth Naru?" I ask him looking him straight into his eyes.

"Yes." His short concise answer.

"I trust you with Kenji, I trust you with our lives but what I absolutely do not trust you with is my heart. Is that a good enough explanation?" I can see him become rigid as he puts on a poker face. I know I've hurt him, it isn't so hard to see that; but he's proud. Too proud. Stubbornly proud. _I'm sorry Naru, but this is my decision._ I turn away and close my eyes to block him out of my sight, to be presented with him in my mind's eye. I don't know which is worse, to see him with my real eyes or to have my mind constantly remind me of him. _Maybe sometimes both alternatives are just the same._

"Thankyou Mai." _Huh?_ I blink in surprise and I lift my head up to his. "At least now I know where I stand. In your life." There's a trace of bitterness in his voice as he made it out to sound like he didn't care, but I know other wise. When did he become so easy to read? The half-broken day dreams and fantasies of us that I made up in my mind is so ridiculous to me now. Because as we all know, real life always proves us wrong. Perhaps it was to be blamed on my infatuated sixteen year old mind but I should have known better.

Naru gently strokes Kenji's hair away from his face as he stares at him, for some reason I wished – almost longingly that he had been there when Kenji was just a little baby.

"_You didn't give me a choice did you Mai?"_

Words that he spoke with intensity comes back to me as I watch him with my- _our_ son. Maybe I didn't but I couldn't think of anything else, at that moment in my life when I was pregnant I just couldn't think straight.

"You've grown up too fast, in such a short period of time too." Naru says to me without taking his eyes off Kenji sleeping soundly next to him.

"I had to." I was so scared, in those nine months – then when Kenji was born. All those papers… I shut my eyes tightly willing the panic to go away, even now when I think about those days I can get panic attacks. "I was so _scared_… Naru you wouldn't know how it felt, it is the singularly most scariest thing I had ever come across in my life – even up to this day. Nothing can match the fear I felt…" I whisper, opening my eyes wide just staring at the patterned floor. "Then I felt empty… for a long time… I don't know how long – I don't _want_ to know how long, but for the longest time all I felt was fear and emptiness. And one day some thing snapped in me, I woke up from my 'zombie' state and I did my best… I still got those panic attacks and the emptiness did eat away at me at times, but I could bear it I could suppress it and keep on loving and caring for Kenji." I just told Naru everything that I had fought for so long to stay under wraps, maybe it's because I feel owe him something – or maybe I just want to get it off my chest, but whatever the reason or reasons I strangely don't feel any regret telling him that.

"Damnit Mai! Why did you – why did you just leave me?" He asks me vehemently trailing off hopelessly, I let out a short satirical laugh.

"Why did _I_ leave you? I'm not the only one who has changed Naru. You've changed too…"

"I don't mean it the way you perceive the question Mai. Why did you leave me behind? Am I really such a bad person that you didn't trust?"

"Naru, a lot more was at stake then than there is now."

"What was at stake for you Mai?" He asks me straining himself a lot more than I thought he would.

"A family that I didn't deserve to have. In the end I lost them in the physical sense anyway. I just didn't want to lose their good judgment about me."

"Mai, our judgement about you has never changed. Why did you think it would have affected how we thought about you?"

"It's not just me Naru. I was thinking for you too. What would they say – back then that is, if they found out that you fathered a child while _drunk_?" I ask bluntly, the words though true cut deeply into me. "'The great narcissist Naru' gets drunk – not only that but he slept with an employee. On more occasions that I would like to admit I have found myself often wishing I could go back to my old sixteen year old self. I don't have anything to lose now, only Kenji – he is basically all I live for." I choke back tears bubbling to the surface, "Which if you think about it is actually far more precious than everything I've ever had."

"Would you ever trust me? With your heart?" I wipe away my tears, looking up at the ceiling to stem the flow of salty tears.

"That's a stupid question to ask Naru." I blot my eyes to keep them dry although I know they are already red and blotchy. I blow my nose and continue, "Because you already have it. It doesn't matter that I don't trust you simply because you've already have it. It's like getting on a roller coaster and just as the ride is starting you realise that you want out. But you can't because you're already on it and all you can do is ride it out." I look at him giving up on trying to keep my eyes dry, "But the thing with hearts is that – the end is never in sight, yet they are in a much more dangerous situation than you would be if you were on a roller coaster with all the safety harnesses and belts." I've shocked him into silence, I am too. I've told him all my heart's secrets without even a blink of an eye.

"That night – " I know where he's going with that opening and I cut him off before he says something that we'd both come to regret.

"Do you really think I would have let that happen to me if I wasn't willing to let it happen?"

"Did I – do anything that hurt you?"

"In the physical sense no, in the emotional and mental sense yes. I think I was stupid to allow that to happen to me, but that fault lies entirely with me. I had disillusioned myself and allowed that to happen, and I suppose it's a punishment of sorts; to have my own mind torture my body and soul until I did my penance."

"It shouldn't be. Part of the fault lies with me too." There's anger in his voice and a sense of self-loathing. For awhile I'd been down that path too, just hating my existence but it didn't last long; Kenji saved me from that.

"Please don't go down that road Naru; I did that and it's not very pleasant once you start. It's over now, can we try to move on?" We stay in mute agreement, well more so I than he but I think he's trying to move on. He's only had a few days to cope – I've had seven years.

"We'll tell everyone when we get out of hospital. We can't keep this from them any longer than necessary, there just isn't any point." He gazes at Kenji before musing out loud, "He really does look like me doesn't he?"

"When he was first born I thought God had taken a liking to spite me. But after awhile I just got used to it, he is still part of me. Even if he doesn't look too much like me. But his eyes… they are something all together… sometimes I think that I'm looking at you."

"It's not true you know." He says gently, "They are your's. Not mine. They could never be mine Mai, and I'll tell you why – they are far too gentle to be mine."

"You'll never guess how sharp he really is." I say quietly remembering all the times Kenji surprised me with his keen insight into everything. I push myself up from the wheelchair and sit on the edge of his bed to pat Kenji. Naru moves over further to give me some space and I squish in next to Kenji kissing his nose.

"Sardines." Naru grunts out as he squishes as far as possible to give me more space on the other side.

"Sorry?" I ask absentmindedly as I move up and lean my head on my arm to observe Kenji's profile.

"It's a game; sardines." Naru explains, pulling Kenji over to give me more space.

"How does it go?" I ask moving up trying not to pull off the IVF tubes attached to my hand.

"Everyone crams together and try to fit in the one bed."

"Oh?" I ask prompting him to keep going, I rest my head on an arm and watch Kenji as he sleeps.

"We – my brother and I, we used to do this at the orphanage. The beds were small but we had to sleep with each other; we were all each other had." I stay silent at the revelation Naru just told me. I never knew Naru was an orphan at one point in his life, nor did I know that he had a brother. I wrap my free arm around Kenji's waist and pull him in closer to me, hugging him the way I used to when he was younger.

"What happened?" I asked softly almost afraid to hear the answer.

"We were adopted by the Davis'." He says abruptly, I can hear a tone of finality and even a little surprise. I suppose he's surprised he shared that much of his past with me and does not wish to speak of it any further. He reaches over Kenji's curled up body and pulls hesitantly on my waist, hugging Kenji from his side and pulling me closer. I go rigid at his touch and he quickly lifts his hand from my waist.

"Sorry, it's fine. I'm just getting used to being touched by someone other than Kenji." I smile weakly at him as he holds my waist again. Slowly I relax and Naru protectively wraps his arm around the both of us. I close my eyes and cuddle in closer to Kenji leaning my head on his back.

"Kenji is turning seven in July. It would be nice if you could be there." I mummer softly and I feel his arms tighten around my waist.

"I will go." He says decisively.

"I'm sorry…" I sigh drifting off to sleep in the warm comfort of my son and Naru. "I should have never doubted you, there was a reason why I fell in love with you… You had a way to make everything right again." I sigh, falling into darkness – a kind of welcoming darkness that I haven't known for a long time.

* * *

A/N: hey everyone, this is the last chapter I'll be able to write in the holidays!! From Monday onwards I'll be in term 2! I'll still write and post when I can, thanks for all the kind reviews! They've helped me write better I hope Naru isn't too OOC here… hehe, sardines - sorry!! i had the attack of the fluff bunnies when i came up with that idea!! XD please leave a review too! 


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13 **

A/N: Spoilers beyond Manga/anime.

* * *

A few days later we were discharged from the hospital, Lin drove Naru, Kenji and I back to SPR. 

"Mai!" Madoka greets me happily hugging me, I return the hug as she pulls away from me she asks, "How are you feeling now?"

"Good." I say nodding my head slightly, I take a seat on the closest sofa and Kenji climbs up next to me.

"Would like anything to drink Mai?" Lin asks me while hanging up his coat.

"Oh no, I'll be fine." I shake my head.

"How's the case going?" Naru asks Bou san just as he finished hanging up his coat.

"Not much I'm afraid; I'd actually say it got worse…" Bou san grimaces and Madoka cuts him off quickly.

"Not now Bou san! We'll tell him after he's had a chance to rest." Madoka hisses at Bou san trying to shut him up before the damage was done.

"No, what happened? Tell me." Naru accepts a glass of water from Lin and sits down on the couch facing Madoka.

"Well… The police called yesterday and they said that another person was killed the same way Mr. Ichinose was killed. Seems that our angry sprit is now even more livid."

"This is bad…" He stops for a moment deep in thought before asking, "Why has the police called us?"

"Well they found a note and this time it wasn't as discreet." She stops abruptly as she takes a glance at Kenji.

"Something not very good a child should hear?" I ask, Madoka gives me an apologetic look as she shakes her head.

"I'll just take him out for awhile then…" Just as I stand up Naru orders me,

"No. You aren't going to go out – it's too dangerous. Madoka, my office please. Lin, keep an eye out for those two." I open my mouth in shock. How dare he!?

"How can you – " Bou san cuts me off diverting my attention away from Naru. Least I should commit bloody murder on Naru in front of my son. I grit my teeth as I allow myself to be distracted.

"Calm down now Mai, we know he's being a jerk but it's for your safety." His office door closes with a soft click and I close my eyes to stop myself from feeling so irritated with him. Bou san is right. It is for our safety, but he didn't have to say it like that did he? I sigh and slump back onto the couch.

"You're right Bou san… So how've you been? You still look as well as you used to."

"Hmm… Well in the grand scheme of things I've been having it pretty good. I haven't gotten myself killed by Ayako." He jokes getting a well deserved smash over the head from said murderess.

"Oww… Sorry! Sorry! I was just joking!" Bou san whimpers cowering into the couch while tending to his sore head. I smile then laugh. _I've come home at last._

"How have you been Mai?" Ayako asks me ignoring Bou san.

"In all honesty – not that great." Ayako gives me a sympathising look and smiles encouragingly at me. "But I'm happy that everyone seems to have been fine these few years."

"Oh Mai, it's just so much like you to worry about us first." Ayako sighs and shakes her head.

"Did that idiot in there have anything with why you left us?" Bou san asks me gently.

"Yes, he did. A lot of it had to do with him surprisingly – even though it was of my own choice in the end to leave. I suppose I owe you all an explanation, but I can't do it without everyone here." I say noticing the absence of Masako and John.

"You don't owe us _anything_ Mai." Bou san tells me kindly.

"I know that, but _I feel_ like I do and if I don't I will never be able to look any of you in the eye anymore." Kenji lay his head on my lap and curls up into a ball.

"Are you tired Kenji?" He yawns and nods sleepily, Ayako coos at him as she says,

"You have a very adorable son Mai." I smile and pat Kenji to sleep.

"Hmm… He can be a right little monster when he wants to. He's just too tired now to do anything."

---

"What did the police report?"

"The same thing that happened the last time; heart carved out. They couldn't find what would have done that, the heart had just seemingly been ripped out." Madoka informs me grim faced.

"And why couldn't they have missed the note?"

"It was carved into the victim's body. Every single square centimetre is covered with the note, it just kept repeating." She says simply handing me a folder.

"What is…" I look down on the thick folder and flick a few pages open.

"The case file that the police sent us. This is a collection of similar cases that they've so nicely compiled together for us." I frown; we've never worked with the police before.

"Why did you accept the case Madoka?" She regards me with a serious look and says slowly,

"This is serious Naru. I've come across this case before but that was in _England_, and to find out now that these cases are so similar to the one I've come across in England is just more than a little disturbing Naru. This means that whatever is going on is not just in this area or just in Japan but it could possibly reach around the world. You _have_ to solve this one, not just to stop other people from dying but Mai and Kenji. They are next and it's just a matter of time. The police are willing to give their help, I say take it and solve it before anything happens."

"Wasn't the last one fifty years ago?"

"Fifty years ago in _Japan_. I didn't get the connections until I saw the police files. A more recent one had happened in England."

"Why are they helping Madoka? Don't give me that lie I know you're about to let loose." She stops in mid-sentence and closes her mouth to form a new sentence.

"They didn't have much choice. It was in the said note." She hands me a photo of the dead body and a close up shot of the full message.

_I will get my reward. Taniyama. SPR can't protect you forever._

"That is all over the poor guy's body, the police has no idea what to do so a superintendent who used to know me called me up and requested this from me."

"This is getting worse and worse…" I throw the folder and photos onto my desk, "What do you think we do now?"

"You don't have anything?" She asks me mildly surprised.

"Madoka, whatever this is it's not attached to a certain place, I have no idea where to start looking and going to the places where the victims died won't help us in finding the real killer. All we'd get is a trace left by the sprit sent but nothing to trace it back to the point of origin. It's made to look like individual attacks but they aren't, that's all we know."

"But Mai – " I cut her off sharply.

"Yes I know Madoka. You don't have to repeat." I hold back a rage of sorts boiling up from under my skin. "All we can do now is keep Mai and Kenji as safe as possible." I push off my desk I was leaning on and stride towards the door, Madoka holds onto my arm to stop me going any further.

"Where are you going Naru? We haven't come up with anything yet!"

"I am going to find somewhere safe to keep Kenji and Mai for the time being as that is all we can do now." I say coldly pulling my arm back.

"Running won't solve anything Naru!"

"I didn't say I was running did I _Madoka_? I said 'I am going to find somewhere safe to keep Kenji and Mai' I'll solve this case without worrying that Mai and or Kenji is going to be in a constant state of danger. I do happen to find myself thinking the best when I'm not preoccupied with something else. I'm sure you'll find that that's the case for you too." I wrench the door open with a little more force than necessary and slammed it shut.

---

Naru comes storming out of his office pretty loudly and makes no effort to quieten down, I glare at him but something in his eyes make me stop.

"Naru…What happened?" I ask with concern.

"I need to talk to you Mai. It's about your's and Kenji's safety." He informs me coldly. I carefully slip Kenji's head off my lap and place a cushion under his head before standing up.

"That's fine but keep it down will you? Kenji is sleeping now."

"Kitchen." He walks into the kitchen without even looking to see if I'd follow, something tells me this isn't the time to nit-pick.

"Naru… What's going on?" I ask cautiously eyeing him wearily; he stays silent for a moment before suddenly saying,

"You'll have to say somewhere safe, whatever sent these sprits want you and or Kenji. Dead. I am not going to allow that to happen to you or him. I need you to call work and say you won't be able to come in for an undefined period of time. Same goes for Kenji."

"Naru, are you out of your mind? I can't do that! I'd lose my job! And Kenji, what will he do? He's gotten very comfortable at school and he's got his school friends." He moves forward and grasps my hands in his pulling me closer to him.

"Mai, listen to me. I don't care that you hate me or you have a strong desire to kill me right now, but you have to do this. Please, for me; for Kenji. I am not going to allow you to be placed in danger. If you don't want to do this for me think about Kenji, you would never put him in danger – I know you won't allow that and just like you I will never allow you _or_ Kenji to be in danger. You _have_ to do this." His eyes implore me to do as he said.

"That's emotional blackmail." I whimper pulling back but Naru just holds me tighter.

"It's the truth Mai. The police have just come to us, another person has been killed and the same message is left there. That _thing_ wants to kill you and or Kenji. I will not let that happen, do you understand? If you don't believe me you can read the files on my desk that Madoka gave me."

"I – I – I, Naru please…" I whisper, "I don't want to do this, I don't want this to be happening." My hands are trembling but only I can tell, Naru is holding my hands too tightly to notice anything.

"Mai, I promise you that I'll find a way out. I'll promise you _anything_ you want – just listen to me and keep safe. Promise me you'll call into work, quit if you even need to, call Kenji's school. Please." There is a lot of worry in his voice as he holds me tighter begging me with unspoken words.

"I… I promise…" I swallow a large lump in my throat and blink away hot tears surfacing. The first attack was bad enough, will there be another one like that soon? I don't think I will be able to cope if something like that happened again…

"I've been told by Madoka that this case isn't just restricted to Japan, she has seen a similar case in England so she doesn't think that moving out of the country will do you any good but at least for now if we can trick whatever is trying to harm you and Kenji into thinking that you're still in the country we might have an opening there."

"England…?" I ask confusion taking over.

"Go to England Mai. My parents will look after you, I don't think we can fool this thing for very long but it'll give us some time to look for it."

"England…? ENGLAND?!" I scream while realisation sinks in.

"Calm down Mai!" He cups my face in his hands to make me stop.

"You are asking me to move _out_ of the country with Kenji with me." I stare at him with disbelief and I'm starting to feel like I'm not me any more. Just a helpless spectator watching in from the sidelines.

"Yes."

"But – but – I – Kenji…" I stop and take in several deep breaths to calm down.

"John will go with you, I can't find anywhere safer and it'll give us some time to look for the sprit. I have a feeling that once the sprit doesn't sense you in the country, it will lash out a bit more and that might just leave us some trails to follow."

"But I – "

"You'll be fine. John will follow you there and he'll help you." Naru says to try and reassure me, but it doesn't and all I can think of is that Naru will be in danger.

"You aren't…" I trail off, of course he can't where has your brain gone? I scold myself.

"I _can't_ Mai. I have to solve this." He says almost painfully, he places one of his hands on the back of my head and on my lower back pulling me in tightly in a hug, "I know you'll be fine. You'll be strong." He whispers into my ear. I swallow the shock and long after he's let me go I can still feel tingles all over my body.

"Call the your work Mai and Kenji's school, you can use my office." He leads me into his office with his hand on the small of my back, opening the door for me. I pick up the receiver and dial into work,

"Good afternoon Mr. Kayo, I regret telling you this but I will be away for a longer period of time." My boss' voice comes over,

"When will you be back? Do you need more time to rest after your injury?" I hesitate before pushing the words forcefully out of my mouth.

"I'm sorry Sir, but I don't know when I will be back."

"Mai…" Disappointment colours my boss' voice and I bite my lip to stop myself from saying something I shouldn't. He was such a nice person to me too, he gave me a job when no one would.

"I am so sorry." I apologise sincerely.

"If you can't tell me when you will be back I don't know if I can keep you hired…" Something like sadness filled his voice. Sadness and disappointment.

"That will be fine Sir." I hear him sigh over the phone.

"I will send you two weeks of advance pay then. Call me when you are OK again and can come back to work."

"You don't have to do that Sir." I say quickly as guilt eats through me.

"You were the best worker I've ever had. At least keep in contact with me."

"OK then. Thankyou for all these years, for giving me a job when I needed one."

"I don't give people jobs on sympathy Mai. I give them jobs based on what I can see their ability is." My boss answers me sharply.

"I know Sir, but thankyou all the same." I hold myself as rigidly as possible to stop myself from breaking down in apologies and excuses to my boss.

"Alright then, goodbye Mai I hope to hear from you soon."

"Yes Sir, goodbye." I hang up the phone and make an effort to pick it up again to call Kenji's school.

"Good afternoon to you, I'm sorry to call so late but it is regarding my son Taniyama Kenji? He won't be attending school for a while longer."

"Oh OK, do you know how long?" The receptionist asks me with a cool voice.

"I don't unfortunately… I might enrol him in another school if I have to, I will call you before I do though."

"Alright then. I will inform the principal. Thankyou Ms. Taniyama." I hang up the phone and sigh turning to Naru.

"I've done it, now what?"

"You're getting on the next plane out to England with John. He's at a hotel at the moment, I'll have to tell everyone what we're going to do and get John to come down here."

"Do I go pack anything?"

"No."

"But – "

"You'll get everything you need in England. I just want you out of this country as soon as humanly possible." He leaves me alone in his office and goes out into the waiting room.

What is happening? Is it really that bad? I glance on Naru's desk and I see the folder and several pieces of paper sticking out of it. I pick it up and start reading through it, while going through the report a photograph slides out and as I bend to pick it up my whole body freezes up when I see it.

_I will get my reward. Taniyama. SPR can't protect you forever._

I feel light headed and that is when I realise I'm not breathing. I drag in a ragged breath and force oxygen into my lungs. I turn my head away and stagger out his office taking in air; I must have been depriving myself of oxygen for a lot longer than I thought…

"Mai? Are you alright?" Ayako asks me holding onto my arm giving me some support. I nod my head weakly and explain my light – headedness.

"The report – photos."

"Naru! Why did you let her near those reports?" Ayako tells him off leading me to the couch.

"It's fine Ayako, it's my fault for looking at them anyway." I shrug her hand off my shoulders and sit down next to Kenji's sleeping form.

"But you're going to England!?" Bou san exclaims pacing around the room anxiously.

"I'll be fine Bou san…" I say weakly.

"Naru you'd better be really confident about this." Bou san cautions him.

"Naru, the tickets are booked. It's for today four PM." Lin hands Naru three pieces of paper and Madoka walks in shutting her cell shut with a soft snap.

"I've just called John san, he'll be here in ten minutes."

"Good. Lin isn't there an earlier flight?" Naru asks impersonally, which I find quite a feat considering all the things that are going around.

"The last flight left an hour ago, this is the next flight." Naru says nothing but leaves and shuts his office door behind him telling the world he does not wish to be disturbed.

"What does that boy think he's doing?" Bou san mutters unhappily going into the kitchen, just pacing the whole place up and down.

"Oh stop it would you Bou san! If you pace any more the floor will develop a hole in it and I hope you fall through it!" Ayako snaps at him making him stop in his tracks but he turns to fidgeting to relieve his restlessness.

"Bou san that boy is doing what he thinks is the best course of action. He hasn't left us down before, lets just see what happens." Madoka advises him giving us all some advice as well.

"No one is ever perfect you know." He growls under his breath, "If anything happens to Mai because of this stupid crack-pot plan his head will be on a platter."

"Can you stop talking about me as if I'm not here?" I ask thoroughly annoyed. "I don't like this plan either but do you have another one?" Kenji starts to wake up and I pat him to put him back to sleep.

"Mum…?" He rubs his eyes sleepily.

"Go back to sleep honey, you'll need it." I kiss his forehead and continue to pat him to sleep.

---

"Hello…?" A groggy voice greets my ears, a voice that I haven't heard in awhile and have been longing to hear for quite awhile.

"Mother, how have you been?" I ask as a reflex question.

"Naru?… NARU!" I can hear the phone being lowered and my mother shaking up my father from his sleep.

"_Honey, honey get up Naru is on the phone!"_ I can just see her shaking up father as I hear her muffled voice over the phone.

"Mother, mother, don't bother to wake father. I'll call again soon, I'm so sorry to call at such an unearthly hour but I have something very important I need to tell you." She seemingly ignores me and keeps rattling on.

"Oh honey, when will you come back? We miss you so much, and your father is in such a state at the moment. You will come back home soon?"

"Mother, listen to me – this is very important." I say firmly over the phone. As much as I would like to talk to my mother with no particular aim I _must_ tell her about Mai. She seems to get the urgency of my tone and stops talking,

"I need you to look after a few people. Just for a while, it's for their safety – the case that we're on is very dangerous and I don't think we can protect them as well. Two people will arrive tomorrow evening I think, Lin will send you the details soon; John san will accompany these two people."

"Naru, who are these 'people'."

"One of them will be Taniyama Mai and her son Kenji."

"The same one who left…?" My mother leaves the question hanging. Seven years ago I called back and informed my mother and father briefly about Mai's sudden departure. I think my mother picked up on something that my father didn't.

"The very same one." I grimace.

"Naru," My mother asks innocently.

"What is it…?" I'm getting highly suspicious at that opening…

"Why are you speaking in English? You know very well that I can speak in Japanese."

"Let's just say to stop anyone listening in from actually understanding what I'm saying." I say stopping that line of conversation before it can be developed any further.

"About that, Mai can't speak English very well. That is also part of the reason why I'm sending John with her."

"Naru, don't you think it's a little risky to leave her alone?"

"I am not leaving her alone mother."

"Your father and I have heard from Lin and Madoka, that is why he's in such a state. For the past few days I haven't been able to get him to sleep before 4 AM as he has been searching for the answer to your case." I tense in annoyance.

"I'm no longer a minor any more mother."

"That is true, but the case is of high importance. We don't think that you wouldn't be able to handle it; on the contrary we know you will be able to, it's just that this is starting to become progressively worse. Do you understand Naru?"

"Yes of course I do." I sigh, "That is the reason why I'm sending Mai and Kenji over there."

"It won't stop – "

"Mother, I know. I just want to see if we can use this chance to see if we can find the _thing_ behind all these killings. I don't even think it is sprit related any more."

"I promise we will do everything we can to protect Mai and her son but I don't know if it will be enough."

"I have faith in you mother." Her sigh sends static sounds down the line.

"If only your brother was here Naru…" I clench my jaw and stay silent concentrating everything I've got to stop myself from snapping.

"Can you tell me what happened between the two of you?"

"Gene?" I ask in surprise.

"No – Mai, I'm talking about Mai." I hear her sigh with concern making the sound go crackly, "I don't know what happened all those years ago Naru but I have to know. Even if it's not now it'll have to be some time soon."

"I'll tell you soon, but now it's just too complicated. Another thing, don't look so surprised if Kenji looks uncannily like me." Mai would probably blab her mouth off the moment my mother expresses any amount of surprise at how alike Kenji is to me.

"And why shouldn't I be…?" She asks me suspiciously.

"I'll tell you later, you must be tired mother. I'll let you go back to sleep." I say hastily, my hand hovering over the cut off button.

"No you don't Naru." She warns me using the same tone of voice she used to when we were hiding something from her, "You tell me exactly why I shouldn't be, right now I have a lot of time on my hands and I'm not tired any more. I'm your _mother_ please remember that." She wants to know I'll tell her then.

"Kenji is my son mother. Mai left seven years ago because of that. I didn't even know, she didn't tell me, didn't tell anyone! Just disappeared." She doesn't say anything for a while before asking me calmly, but I know otherwise. The calmer she seems the more emotional turmoil she is going through and right now she is talking to me as if discussing the weather.

"And you didn't remember having slept with her because?"

"I was drunk, hence not remembering anything. Well I did, but I just put that down as a dream."

"You were drunk were you?" There's a steel edge to her voice. "When this case is over, you are to come back home _immediately_. Do you hear me young man? I have a lot to talk to you about, and no doubt your father would love to have a word with you."

"Mother, you're upset. Go get some rest, I didn't want to tell you for a reason and now you're upset." I say, trying to sooth her.

"Oh yes Naru, I believe you had a reason but I don't think it was my health you were thinking about. Naru – I – I mean how could you?"

"How could _I_?! How could I what mother? How could I have slept with Mai when I was drunk? I had no such intensions." I ask outraged, my mother let out a long stream of Japanese words just rambling on before composing herself to form a coherent sentence. This is the first time she has ever done that, I'm afraid I've upset her more than I had previously thought possible.

"Naru, I would have you on the same plane back if it weren't for this case but rest assured, I _will_ be talking to you soon. And in the _near_ future."

"Mother, don't be harsh on Mai." I plead with her.

"Oh it's not _her_ I will be furious with Naru. It will be you. How could you Naru? A gentleman _never_ gets drunk."

"Well mother, I'm not going to further this discussion with you any further as you are making yourself more upset than necessary."

"Naru!" My mother cries out in despair, "Making myself more upset than necessary? You must be joking, I'm not making a big enough fuss. If it weren't for your father sleeping here and you being all the way in Japan I would _skin _your hide! You're taking about your own _son_, Naru this isn't just merely a _thing_ he is a real breathing living human! What about Mai? The things she has had to go through! You being irresponsible for just one night is almost irreversibly unforgivable! And oh lord… She was only seventeen at the most wasn't she? Naru…"

"Mother, mother! Stop. Calm down. Just calm down. Breath." I hear her taking in deep breaths over the phone and I mutter, "What is it with me and calming down hysterical females?"

"Enough with that glib tongue of yours Naru." My mother snaps angrily at me. "Show some respect to your mother!"

"I'm sorry, I've upset you." I apologise to her.

"It's not me Naru." She sighs despondently, "I'm upset for Mai. Naru do you even feel anything for the poor girl?" I'm taken a back by her direct question and stay silent to consider her question. Mai's smile comes to mind, and her affection toward Kenji. Her _love_. A warm feeling starts in the depths of my stomach and I don't quite know what it is.

"I'm… not sure…" Since Mai and Kenji came into my life nothing ever seems as sure as they used to be.

"Would you do anything for her?" She asks me gently.

"Yes." There's nothing to doubt on that, I know how I feel on that I've even asked myself this question before.

"Absolutely? With no room for doubt. It has to be a hundred percent Naru."

"Absolutely."

"At least you aren't a gone case as yet." I can hear my mother smile as she says those words.

"A gone case for what?"

"For being a gentleman, but more importantly for feeling any thing for another person after your brother died. Can you really leave her on her own here? Do you think you'll be able to do that?" I hesitate. My first and most obvious answer would be 'yes' but something doesn't sit too well.

"Y-yes."

"Don't hesitate to come over when you feel you need to. Get Lin to send the details now, I'll go get them from your father's computer. Call back soon Naru. Goodbye." That's final. Once she says her goodbyes she means it.

"Goodbye mother." I reply not too willingly, and as usual she hung up first. The dial tone beeping in my ear as a confirmation that she hung up. I replace the receiver into its cradle and look out the widow for a moment before heading for the front door.

"Lin, can you please send the details over to England?" I ask him forgetting to revert back to Japanese. He raises his eyebrows at me but silently heads for his computer to do as I've asked him. I stand behind him and read through the flight details before he sends them.

"You were talking to your mother?" He asks me so that only I can hear him.

"Yes." A soft knocking comes from the front door before someone opens it and John comes in smiling excusing himself.

"Good afternoon everyone." I straighten myself and head towards him.

"Sorry for all the trouble John."

"It's nothing at all." He says cheerfully, turning his head to look at Mai.

"John san!" She gets up and hugs him in greeting, "How are you?"

"I'm alright Mai, thanks for asking." He smiles radiantly before nodding towards Kenji's sleeping form, "I take that this little fella is Kenji?"

"Yep, he's sleeping at the moment but he'll be a little terror when he gets up." John laughs light heartedly stifling his laughter as to not wake Kenji.

_Why can't she be like that around me? Am I really that bad?_

"Naru, hey Naru!" I blink a few times realising that someone is trying to ask me something. It turns out to be Mai.

"What is it Mai?"

"It's about lunch time, Ayako and Bou san are thinking of going out to get something to eat, would you like to have anything?" She asks me looking like she was sixteen again. Ever since she came back she has been getting more and more of her old self back, the fun loving Mai we all used to know is starting to come back to life and for some reason I can't quite name, I'm very relieved.

"Naru?" She prompts me again.

"No, that'll be fine." I say dismissively watching her gently wake Kenji.

"Honey, would you like something to eat?" He lets out a yawn and kneads his eyes with little fists.

"OK… Mum I'm tired…" He rolls over into the couch and burries himself there.

"You've slept a little too much I think. Sleeping too much will make you feel sleepy, come on get up sleepy monster." She pulls him out of his little corner and as he makes a big fuss she just ignores him and makes sure he stays sitting up right.

"Who are you?" He innocently asks John who is sitting next to Mai.

"I'm John Brown. You must be Kenji?" John asks kindly.

"Yep! How did you know my name?" Kenji asks all thoughts of sleeping gone.

"Your mother told me about you." John smiles and continues, "I hope you don't mind."

"No… Why should I mind? Should I mind mum?" He asks childishly directing the last question to Mai. Mai laughs freely and ruffles his hair,

"Of course you shouldn't! What a silly child you are." She kisses his head and stands up. "I'm going to make something to drink, would anyone want anything?"

"Tea." I say before even thinking, she turns to me a look of mild surprise etched on her face.

"O-OK, I'll go make some tea then…" I follow her into the kitchen just standing in the doorway watching her prepare the tea. After a few moments of silence with the exception of the utensils clattering around Mai says out loud without turning to me.

"You do know that I can prepare a pot of tea by myself Naru, you don't have to stand here just to watch me. I'm sure you're very busy." I watch her move efficiently around the kitchen awhile more before giving my answer.

"I do know that, and I'm not that busy."

"Well you always seemed like you were when I used to work here."

"I am busy but this case concerns you."

"Naru, whatever is trying to kill me won't be doing it while you aren't watching me." She says with a slight edge of annoyance and the utensils she is using sounds a little louder than normal.

"I know that Mai." She fills the kettle up and slams the lid shut before forcibly putting it on the gas stove to boil.

"Naru, can you please leave the kitchen? You're putting me on an edge. And you're cramping my space." I'm slightly taken back by her words, but she does sound like she's under stress. I turn to leave but her voice stops me.

"When the tea is ready I'll call for you." I return to the waiting room and John seems to be having a lot of fun with Kenji, a flash of jealousy shocks me when I see those two having fun together. _He's my son but I don't interact like that with him at all._

"Naru, would you like to join us?" John asks me before I can head for my office. I hesitate a moment before joining them, John smiles at me before saying quietly to the piece of paper he's holding.

"I may not have been filled in on the details yet Naru, but I sure am _not_ blind." Louder he says to Kenji, "I can fold a paper plane would you like to see it?" Kenji nods enthusiastically watching John fold the paper quickly. _Origami_. I pick up a piece of paper and fold it into the shape of a crane.

"What are you folding Naru?" John asks me a bit obviously, but I know why he's doing that.

"It's a crane." I say holding it up, I pass it to Kenji and as he admires the folded crane.

"Hey can you tell me how you did it?" Kenji asks me excitedly, his smile and joy is infectious and I can feel myself smiling back at him.

"All you need is a square piece of paper," I tear a large square out of the biggest piece of paper I can find and hand it to Kenji. "The bigger the piece of paper is, the easier it is to make." It feels odd to be teaching a young child how to fold a piece of paper into a crane but it feels somehow familiar and strangely comforting. Before I can finish teaching him how to fold the paper crane Mai comes out with the tray of tea.

"Oh Naru, I thought you'd be in your office." I clear a space on the messy table for her to put the tray down on.

"I was going to but John invited me to join them." She sets the tray down on the cleared space before noticing that her son is trying to fold something.

"What do you have there Kenji?"

"It's supposed to be a paper crane. Naru was teaching me how to fold one…"

"Oh…!" I don't have to look at her to know how surprised she is; she pours a cup of tea and hands it to me.

"Thanks." Everyone goes silent with the exception of Kenji who is still happily playing with the scrap paper. I look up to see Mai dumbstruck. "Is anything the matter?" I ask.

"You said 'thanks'." She says simply staring at me.

"That is so strange because?"

"You never said thanks to me before." She says as if stating the obvious.

"That doesn't mean I'll never say 'thanks' to you." I take a sip of the steaming tea and that familiar taste somehow soothed almost everything. She still makes the best tea. Time has done nothing to dampen it.

"You make very good tea Mai, what do you use?" John asks her drinking his tea.

"Just what there is in the pantry…?" Kenji tugs on my arm to get my attention,

"Can we finish this after you're done?" He asks pointing to the half folded piece of paper.

"We can finish it now." I pick up the piece of paper and continue to explain the folds to him. Somewhere in that time he found a way onto my lap and by the time I finish teaching him how to fold the crane he is leaning into my chest and my arms are wrapped around him. Probably when I was trying to explain the folding to him I had put my arms around him to show it to him. He twists around on my lap and says to me happily,

"Thank you for teaching me how to fold a crane Naru." Unexpectedly he hugs me and I'm left feeling very awkward not knowing what to do.

"Mum always says to thank someone properly when they've helped you do something." He says while smiling at me, is this a manner complex that Mai has?

"You never thanked me when I was working here. I was afraid that he was going to do that too." Mai says innocently when she sees me look at her.

---

Just before three we drove to the airport, Ayako had bought Mai and Kenji a change of clothes while out to change into while on flight if they needed to. The trip is going to take about 12 hours and it'll be pretty tiring.

I don't know if I'm doing the right thing. I don't know if I want this to happen. Could I really let her go? I stay silent and watch her as she talked and joked with everyone. Her effortless nature just seems to include everyone in it, there's something about the way she talks and interacts with other people that just seems so natural and joyful.

'_Calling all passengers to flight 210 Japan to London to boarding area 5. Calling all passengers to flight 210 Japan to London to boarding area 5.'_

Already? I check my watch and it's fifteen to four. I follow closely behind everyone as we walk through the crowds to see them off. Mai slowly works through everyone saying their goodbyes, hugging everyone.

"I'll see you soon Naru…" She says uncertainly and it hurts, not just that but it also annoys me. Almost as if she isn't sure if she'll ever see me again.

"Take care Mai. And I _will_ see you soon." She gives me a sad empty smile before turning away. _Why are you still standing here like an idiot? Because you are that's why._ Those voices jeer at me. I move forward and pull her arm back almost violently.

"Naru, what are y- " It doesn't matter that everyone is around us or that she probably doesn't want me to touch her but I do anyway. Her lips so soft and yielding, I just take what I can. For a moment she responds to me but it is so brief I could even put it down to my imaginations but her hands dig into my arms and I know I'm not imagining anything. I break apart from her and whisper,

"I'll see you soon Mai. Please take care." She doesn't let go so I do the letting go for us. I don't look back, I don't look at anyone I just focus all my energy on not running back to stop her from boarding that flight. I've just willingly let her go after finding her. I am a fool. My mother's voice rings in my head and I now know what she was trying to get me to understand.

'…_Can you really leave her on her own here? Do you think you'll be able to do that?'_

No, I can't really. No matter which way I try to look at it, I can't. But I am.

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A/N: phew! This was a loooonggg chapter XD 19 pages!! I hope you've enjoyed this chapter! I had a lot of fun writing out Naru's personality, his mother was quite fun to write too, I'm not sure I got it right but it seems to be what he'd do when speaking to his mother XD please leave a review too! There may be typos in this doc. as it is pretty late and i don't think my brain is working that well (plus i can feel a headache coming on...) i'll fix it up tomorrow if i have more time! it's monday tomorrow too so yeah... hope you enjoyed it! 


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

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I feel so empty. I had managed to feel as if I'm satisfied with all that I've got but only by erasing how it felt to be held and kissed by him. And for some reason when I think about how I've achieved this feeling of fullness I feel that I've cheated myself somehow. Cheated myself of how it feels to have him with me. But the emptiness is back and I'm not sure if I want to remember how it feels to have him kiss me in exchange for this empty feeling that's eating me inside out.

"Mai? Are you feeling OK?" John san hands me a cup of water looking at me worriedly, I gratefully accept the cup of water from him and take a sip of the cool liquid. My hands are still trembling as I can see small ripples disturb the surface of the water.

"I'm fine." I lie weakly, like badly watered down stock. Diluted, tepid and obviously not fine. What am I doing? I set the water down and lean back on the seat to get my composure.

Why am I on a plane to London? This is insanity! I don't want to be on a flight to London. The whole place suddenly seems to be too small and too stuffy.

"John san, I'm just going to the bathroom for awhile. Do you mind looking after Kenji for a bit?" I don't wait for his answer but rush to the nearest bathroom. I slam the door shut and lock it; my breathing is shallow and quick. If I don't calm down I won't be able to breath. That is what I'm thinking anyway, but I can't seem to. I stay in the bathroom for what seems like an eternity until a stewardess knocks on the bathroom door.

"Excuse me, but you'll have to return to your seat. The plane is about to take off." I splash my face with cold water before forcing myself to take in deep slow breaths. I open the door to find a surprised stewardess,

"Miss are you feeling alright? You look terribly pale…" I shake my head and say faintly,

"I'm sure I'm fine, just having flight jitters." She helps me to my seat and just before she leaves she smiles at me and tells me,

"If you feel sick don't hesitate to ask one of us for some motion sickness tablets." I don't think its motion sickness that's making me feel so faint but I play along with it anyway.

"Thank you." I buckle Kenji in before buckling my own seat belts.

"Mai are you sure you feel fine?"

"Yes. I'm fine John san!" I say this time with more assertiveness.

"Mum, where are we going again?" Kenji asks me turning his attention away from the window.

"We're going to London honey." I say glad that I can ignore the emptiness for a while at least.

"Where is that mum?"

"It's in England, it's in a different country." I answer as generally as possible.

"Oh… I don't know where that is…"

"I'll show it to you on a map when I see one, OK? For now keep seated and don't fidget too much." The plane starts moving and instead of being frightened as I thought Kenji would be, he loved it. It kept generating endless streams of questions from him; how we were moving, what moves it. It was almost never ending. It wasn't until we finished the take off that he had asked all his questions.

"Hmm… I don't know how it works Kenji, ask John san maybe he knows?"

I spend most of the trip in a fit full rest, never sleeping at anyone time for more than two hours. I vaguely remember having meals and washing up but for most of the flight I pass it in a hazy cloud, not sure where I am and not sure what I'm doing. Part of me wanted to scream at myself for being so irresponsible the other half just wanted to keep living in the haze cloud. In the end I couldn't come to a resolution so for the entire trip I was neither living in a complete daze nor taking full responsibility, John was kind enough to take care of Kenji for the full trip.

I don't know what possessed me to agree to this so quickly. Just thinking about all the implications of my actions can bring me to tears, what will the real life results give me?

I am gently shaken up from my-half consciousness.

"Mai, we've arrived." John san informs me gently. I unbuckle myself and gingerly get up from my seat; Kenji is already standing up waiting for me.

"Sorry honey, I'm a little tired… Did you sleep well?" I ruffle his hair and kiss the top of his head.

"It's OK mum, John san accompanied me when you were sleeping." Since business class was the first two to leave, the stewardess arrives to usher us out. I take hold of Kenji's hand as we walk off the plane; John san passes me my passport.

"I've filled in your declaration forms for you so you'll be alright." I smile a grateful thanks to him. If I didn't have him I don't think I'd know what to do…

I don't understand a word as the immigration official asks John san

"_Business or pleasure?"_

"_A little of both."_ John san answers.

"_Visiting family?"_ The immigration official asks light-heartedly while stamping our passports.

"_Yeah."_

"_Have a good trip."_ He returns our passports and allows us through, John san quickly collects his luggage circulating on the conveyer belt before leading us out to the arrivals lounge. He quickly spots someone in the crowd but I have no idea who he has found, we follow him as he quickly navigates through the throngs of people waiting for loved ones.

"_Luella! How have you been?" _John san greets a middle-aged woman who dressed exceptionally elegantly, not expensively but elegantly and just by looking at her I can tell that she is the very woman who brought up Naru. John san kisses her cheek affectionately in a greeting before discreetly pulling Kenji and I forward.

"_I'm good! Nice to see you again John! And who do you have here?"_ She asks him warmly looking at Kenji and I.

"This is Taniyama Mai and her son Kenji." To my surprise John san introduces us in Japanese and the lady greets us warmly,

"It's nice to meet you Taniyama san, and your son? How old is he?"

"He's turning seven this year, thank you for putting us up." I say feeling very out of place.

"It's no matter!" She says smiling with so much warmth I can feel it seeping into my very bones.

"You didn't have to come and pick us up, and it's such a dreary day out too." John san says to her humbly.

"I _want_ to. Come on this way out." She falls in step with me and starts some small talk with me.

"I take that Naru didn't allow you anytime to get anything?" I shake my head,

"He deemed it to be too dangerous. From the moment we arrived back from the hospital he has been keeping an eye on me or getting someone to do it. He hasn't really stopped looking out for me since John san is here."

"I know, he can get a little overbearing… I applaud you for being able to put up with it for so long." She lets out a soft chuckle.

"Mrs. Davis if I may ask, when did you learn to speak Japanese?"

"Oh that was a long time ago, when I had the boys to look after." A distant look clouds her eyes but just as it had come it went just as fast. "That's a long time ago now, right now we should find you and Kenji something to wear. I expect you'd be jet-lagged." The warm air brushes against my skin as we exit from the cool comfort of the airport. John san is already there fitting his luggage into the boot of a black car, he slams the back shut before opening the passenger door for Mrs. Davis and I.

"Thank you John, but my driver could have done that for me." Mrs. Davis carefully gets into the car moving to the furthest end to make some space for Kenji and I.

"It's fine, I didn't want to bother him as I'm already out here." John san replies to her cheerfully before closing the door after I had gotten in with Kenji. As we pass buildings bathed in light I get a strange sensation that I'm not really where I am. Like my physical body is here but my mental self isn't, I stifle a yawn before it can make its way out.

"You must be very tired. When we get back you and Kenji can have a nice long sleep." I shake my head suppressing another yawn.

"I'm fine. But I think he needs the sleep more than I do." I say pointing to a sleepy Kenji.

"Beautiful isn't he?" She mummers, looking at him wistfully.

"I suppose he is…" I say carefully turning my attention to Kenji, he leans his head on my lap and I carefully brush his hair away from his eyes.

"I have to show you something when we get back. That is if you don't mind." She says ruefully.

"Oh no, I'll be fine." She seems to be satisfied with my answer and sits back, the car pulls up into a long drive way leading up to a stately manor with gardens reaching as far as I could see. I hold in a gasp of amazement asking instead,

"Is this where Naru grew up?" I ask, my eyes feel like they're going to pop out of my eye sockets as more grand gardens pass us.

"For most of it yes. Why do you ask?"

"It's incredible! Amazing! It is so beautiful…"

"I'm glad someone finds the gardens beautiful, especially since I've put in so much hard work into it."

"You did all this yourself?" I ask disbelievingly admiring the gardens in awe.

"I do as much as I can but I have a few gardeners to help me out. But I suppose they're more like friends to me now. Since I spend so much time in the gardens with them." The car coasts to a gentle stop in front of a grand mansion with stairs leading to the top veranda where the front door was. The driver gets out first and opens the door for Mrs. Davis. I pick Kenji up gently and let his head rest on my shoulder before climbing out of the car in an awkward position so that I wouldn't wake Kenji.

"Wow…" I breathe out in amazement as I look up to the massive mansion that just lay before me.

"Oh don't be so awed, it makes me feel so terribly self-conscious." Mrs. Davis says bashfully leading the way up the stairs.

"I take that you'll want to go to your room to rest for a little while? Kenji looks like he needs it." She says letting out warm chuckle.

"Yes, that'll be good." I say hefting him up higher as he was slowly slipping, she unlocks the front doors with her keys and opens one side of the double doors.

"My husband is not home at the moment as he's at work but please do make yourself comfortable." The foyer is so huge that even the ceiling didn't end in a few metres but probably stretched up for about ten, there wasn't any ornamental lights or furniture in sight. Everything had its purpose in being there. The light lighting the whole foyer was bright enough but it was only encased in a simple light fitting. Somehow, the whole foyer seems to be more opened up with the lighting and furniture.

"I'll show you to your room and let you rest, but if you wish to find me just come down to the living room, I'll most likely be there or if I'm not you can ask one of the house maids. They always seem to know where I am." She said adding the last part in a conspiratorial whisper, making me laugh. She seems to have a way in making me feel at ease and I already like her.

"I hope you don't mind but since all but one of the guest rooms haven't been aired or cleaned out that well for a long while the only other room that's fit for human habitation is Naru's room. I hope you don't mind." She turns right on the second level of stairs before leading us to a door. "John san stayed over here previously so that's why we had that guest room clean. Apart from that every other room has no bed sheets laid out or cleaned… and since you came here on such a short notice the maids couldn't clean a room up on time." She adds apologetically.

"No, no, that's fine Mrs. Davis! I should be apologising to you for coming her on such a short notice!" She opens the door for me just quickly showing me where everything was before heading out with John san to show him his room.

I gently set Kenji down on the large bed enough for four people before moving around the room. I push back the curtains to see what lies beyond them and I find myself looking out into a beautiful garden.

_Is this what Naru woke up to everyday?_ It is so beautiful, flowers dotted everywhere and it seems as though the have no set area in which they grew, but the beauty lay in the fact that they _were_ organised. _Organised chaos._ How ironic, I nearly find myself laughing at that. My heart is in that exact state. I sigh and let the curtains fall back. Maybe it's a good thing there's organised chaos in my heart, then at least I'll have some comfort in knowing not everything is just random.

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A/N: Sorry everyone! I know this is a very short chapter but I'm just stuck with writer's block at the moment and I just need to write the next chapter to get those stuck brain fluids to get moving again! Maybe if I concentrate on the case I'll be able to get something done… so I'll be most likely cutting back to Naru and Co to get this case _really_ going. Thanks for all your reviews!! I'm a very very happy writer :D cookies to all!! 


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15

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Sending Mai off to England did nothing to abate my worry and fear and if possible it made it even worse.

"I want everyone to keep alert for any suspicious cases in the media, brought to our attention as a case or even if you get a feeling from a certain place or object. Trust all your physic senses, nothing physical can be used to test or examine as this case seem to be able to avoid all our means of detection." On the second day, Masako san informs us that she has been getting a strong presence from a near by shoreline. We set out immediately and on the short ride there I could think of nothing but getting this solved as quick as possible.

Lin pulls to a stop in the car park that leads to the seashore. The whole beach was deserted as threatening storm clouds were building up just off shore.

"Do you feel anything Masako san?" I ask her as she stares out into the darkening sea.

"I can't feel it now but it had to be coming from that cave over there." She points to a half-submerged cliff-face. It is high tide now so the cave entrance is totally covered but I'm sure that when it's low tide you would be able to access the cave.

"Alright then, we'll just wait out the tide and check the cave out since that's our only lead."

When the tide receded we entered the cave through some guidance from a local resident willing enough to show us the way.

"I don't advise you to stay down here long, the tide gets really unpredictable. Even with all the forecasts… We can never trust the tide so we normally make sure that our kids don't come into the caves."

"Thank you for your concern." I say not too concerned about our safety, I run my hands along the walls of the cave to try and pick up any thing I can find but I find nought. I can just feel pent up emotions that have been harvested as a power source. Didn't matter what kind of emotions were kept; they were happy, sad, angry, joyous – all of them different but all equally powerful.

"I don't feel anything. What about you Masako san?" I ask suppressing my frustration.

"There isn't anything here that I can feel. There is nothing here except the residues of sprits that have left."

"Residues…?" I press my hands harder against the cave walls willing myself to pick up everything I can. Along with the emotions came memories; old memories of centuries gone by, and recent memories that reflects times not too long ago. They were all jumbled up but they had one thing in common; they all belonged to deceased people.

"These emotions are harvested. Whatever we're going up against relies on the power of others. The emotions of others…" I murmur, trying to make sense of it all.

"So you feel it too young man? All these people that is." The local guide asks me observantly and for a fleeting moment went beyond his age. Something older, wiser was speaking through him.

"Tell me more sir, about these people." I say following him deeper into the cave until we reach a fork in the cave where he stops.

"I can lead you no further, most locals would have already turned back at the mouth of the cave. This has been the furthest anyone has gone and came back _alive_." He regards us with solemn serious eyes before continuing, "If you wish to venture further you must do so alone, if not you are most welcomed to head back with me. In regards to your question young man; these people are all the ones that have perished in this very cave." Everyone looks expectantly at me, waiting for my answer.

"We'll head back, there is nothing more to be found." The guide heads the front of the group but as he passes me I see the side of his face twist into a smirk. It is gone before I can make more sense out of it. But I am certain that there was a leer of sorts contorting his face.

Outside the setting sun paints the skies a vivid shade of reds and oranges leaving little daylight left for us to head back to SPR.

"Now what do we do?" Ayako whines at the back of the van.

"We wait and see if we get anything else." Masako san replies calmly and serenely.

_Indeed, we'll wait and see…_ I glance in the rear view mirror and catch a glimpse of the guide that led us in the cave. There seems to be a forbidding aura around him, something that just doesn't sit right with me. Just what other secrets does that cave hold?

---

"I'm sorry Miss, to wake you but Mrs. Davis had requested you have some breakfast. She is afraid that you mightn't feel too good if you don't have anything to eat."

I open my eyes to a soft spoken and gentle looking maid who is holding a tray of some food.

"No… that's, that's fine…" I give her a sleepy smile and drag myself as quietly and gently as I can from Kenji to stop him from waking. As I my brain start to work again I realise that she was speaking to me in Japanese and still is.

"Your son has already eaten, but he must have been really tired as he went back to sleep as soon as he finished eating."

"You speak Japanese?" I ask mildly surprised.

"Oh, – oh yes, Mrs. Davis had required all house hold staff to be fluent in it as her sons speak very fluent Japanese. She wanted all of us to speak to them in Japanese so that they don't ever stop speaking it."

"Oh…" Naru and his brother. I hesitate and continue, "Do her sons ever… ever come home often?"

"Not really, no." She sighs, "Ever since the oldest died the youngest has been going all over look for his brother."

"Naru's brother died?!" I exclaim in shock.

"You… Weren't told…?" She asks cautiously I shake my head in response. There is just too much that I've never known about Naru, his life or his family, the maid blushes deeply before saying,

"I'm sorry, I don't think I should have said that… But I thought you knew him well since you called him by his nickname." Her meaning is plain as day. That was information outsiders were not privileged to know.

"It's fine." I say quietly taking a bite out of the bread and drinking a mouthful of water – not tasting anything. Indeed, it was his nickname. But it was mine. I was the one who said it.

She quietly takes her leave and leaves me alone to finish eating. A soft knock comes from the door and it slowly opens to reveal a careful looking Mrs. Davis.

"Oh, you're up. I was afraid I was going to wake you." She shuts the door gently behind her before walking over to me.

"It's fine, I should be getting used to the time anyway." She takes a seat next to me and pulls out a heavy photo album.

"I wanted to show you this yesterday but I thought you'd be too tired." She flips to a page showing me the photos. A much younger Naru smiles up at the camera with his arms around his brother, they were probably not much older than Kenji is.

"Oh…" I mummer in surprise. I'm surprised that Mrs. Davis decided to show me this.

"Such angels weren't they?" She sighed contentedly, "That was taken in America where we used to live." I look at his brother for a little while longer trying to place his face. Even though they were identical I could tell who was who, but there was something familiar about his brother and it wasn't due to the resemblance.

"Can you tell them apart?" She asks me thoroughly enjoying herself, I nod my head and say,

"Naru is the one holding his brother. Although they are identical there's just something that makes them so very different. I can't tell what it is but I can see it. What was his brother's name?"

"Eugene. But we all called him Gene and Oliver, Naru." She sighs again saying wistfully, "I miss the boys so much. I wish I could see Naru more often…" She flips to the next page where it was dated.

"Ah! This was taken on the boys' sixth birthday." Two happy looking boys smile and laugh as the photo was taken. I trace their faces in my mind and say quiet absent-mindedly,

"Kenji looks so much like them." I suddenly jerk awake at what I had said, "I mean – what I meant…" Mrs. Davis smiles and shakes her head.

"It's fine Mai. Naru told me."

"H-he did?" I ask cautiously.

"Yes, well when I first saw Kenji I nearly thought it was one of the boys! Until I remembered what Naru told me…"

"What did he say?" I ask finally letting my curiosity get the better of me.

"That Kenji was yours as well as his. Not in as many ways as yours but still part of him nonetheless."

"Are you, I mean do you disapprove of it?" She regards me with a puzzled look.

"Disapprove? What for?"

"I mean since…" I trail off hopelessly.

"No I don't. I am only sorry that Naru did such a thing to you. But I'm sure you don't regret Kenji."

"No I don't regret Kenji… But… I don't think I've ever been angry at Naru for doing that to me." I take another bite from the bread determined to finish the food.

"I'm sorry that he did such a thing to you while he was drunk." She amended bluntly.

"You think?" I ask staring into my cup. "I think it's partly my fault for not stopping him. And it wasn't as if he was forcing me; I could have stopped him – I would have. If I wanted to. But it's gone past the blame game now; I don't care much for it any more. I never have anyway, what happened was just a consequence of a decision not thought out at all."

"You love him don't you?" She asks me gently setting the photo album aside.

"Strange, I don't feel any different about him from seven years ago." She pulls me into a comforting hug and I accept it without any qualms. "If I were given the chance to re-do what happened that night, I would still do what I did. Even knowing the consequences."

"I know why you didn't tell him." I sit up right after hearing that.

"You do? Most people ask me why…"

"You wanted to protect him didn't you?" Protect… him…?

"I… don't know… I just didn't want to burden him… and I didn't and still don't know a lot about him. Maybe I'm learning slowly but I still don't know."

"You were trying to protect him subconsciously. Through all your conscious decisions that is." I scoff.

"He doesn't need my protection. He can do well enough without me."

"Do you think so Taniyama Mai?" She picks up the photo album and went through the photos with me. "Do you see how much he is with his brother?" I nod my head, but that is to be expected. They were siblings! Twins!

"Naru depended greatly on his brother. It doesn't look like it but Naru was a lot more outgoing when he was with his brother. Do you know why he went to Japan?" She asks me seriously, I shake my head slowly.

"He went there to find Gene's body. We had only found out that Gene had died when Naru saw visions of him being killed." I shiver involuntarily and I can feel the sadness rise up in my body like bile.

"Why would anyone…" I whisper fading out.

"It was a hit and run accident, or so we think but Naru wouldn't tell us anything else. We had contacted the police in Japan but they couldn't find Gene's body." I shut my eyes to stop the tears from leaking out. Then I suddenly remember.

"Gene! I know where I've seen him before!" My tears roll down my face but I keep telling Mrs. Davis about the dreams I would use to have. "I've seen him before in my dreams, years ago when I was working at SPR. But I've stopped seeing him since I left. Or should I say he's stopped seeing me since I left because I have no power over when I'll see him." She gently wipes my tears away.

"There, there, don't cry. It's fine, I'm sorry I told you about Gene." I shake my head.

"No, it's normal to grieve. I think I'm hurting more for myself than for anything else now."

"Do you miss him?" She asks me handing me a tissue.

"Yes." I answer miserably, "I've missed him the moment I left, not just to London but the moment I left his life forever. It ate me up so much I often just left like I'm hollow." I stop up the tears and start on a more cheerful conversation,

"It'll be Kenji's seventh birthday soon, I wonder where we'll have it. Most years we just have the two of us celebrating at home but this year will be different." Mrs. Davis picks up on the change and follows my lead.

"When will he be turning seven?"

"In July…"

"That's in a few months only!" She exclaims much to my surprise. "Please have it here! We'll get everyone to come!" _That's if we're all alive by then_. I shake the morbid thought out of my head.

"I suppose so…" Just five more months… will all this be over by then? I hope it will be.

---

_A grey haze everywhere, some places were darker almost to black while other places had shades of purple tinting it. All of these places, some we've been before others we haven't. The cave we went to was covered in a purple haze thinning out to a grey around the edges. Mai's house is covered in a pitch-black haze of the deepest darkest shade I've ever seen. Several other places were shrouded in the same black but there were more places covered in the purple or grey haze._

_There's a pattern to this. The black haze is at Mai's house… Then a familiar mansion, there is a black haze surrounding it but it has not covered it yet and I can feel an unexplained feeling dread chew on the insides of my stomach._

I suddenly wake up on my cold desk. Groaning I rub out a crick in my neck, my fault for falling asleep on my desk I suppose. The dream! I push away from my desk jumping up to retrieve the thick over spilling case file from above the filing cabinet. I pull out the papers with little ceremony and leaf through them to find what I know will be there.

Photos. Maps. They're all there. I can't believe what I'm seeing; all the places covered in black were the places where the killings took place. It still doesn't explain the purple or grey but there's a connection. Everywhere covered in black had a murdered person… The mansion… It hasn't been covered yet but I know something bad will happen once the black haze covers it.

I shove all the papers back into the folder before leaving my office to find Lin typing away at his laptop.

"Lin, we have to go to England. I think I know how to stop this. And if I don't stop it now… This is our last chance."

"London? To your parent's place?" He asks me stopping his rapid typing to talk to me.

"Yes, London! And NOW would be very good Lin. I'm going to leave the tickets up to you. I'll call everyone and tell them. Don't bother to book for everyone. Just the first flight out for the two of us, get them a six AM flight." I leave his office and quickly glance at the clock. Four AM. That's too bad then, they'll just have to get up.

"What is it…?" Ayako greets me tiredly on the phone after the fifth ring.

"I need you to get up now. Lin and I are going over to London as soon as possible, you're on the six AM flight. I'm going to call Bou and Masako san now."

"Naru, what is happening? You call me at…" she knocks something off a table before cursing under her breath, "at 4 AM demanding that I get up this very moment."

"Ayako, I don't have time to explain to you now. Just get up and get ready. Call Bou san at five." I hang up before listening to her further complaints. I dial in Bou san's number and on the _tenth_ ring I hear it being picked up.

"Hello…?"Bou san mutters half-conscious.

"It's me Naru, I need you to get up and get ready. Pick Ayako up from her house when she calls you and come to SPR. Lin and I are going to London as soon as possible. I think I've got some kind of a lead on this case. When you get to SPR the tickets for your flights will be on my desk. It's for the six AM flight so don't miss it." I hear him yawn loudly over the phone.

"Fine… We'll be there… Am I picking up Masako?"

"If she calls you yes. Since you have the extra key I'm leaving it up to you to be here to let everyone in." He stifles another yawn.

"K, Naru." I hang up and dial Masako's private number; the phone is picked up on the third ring.

"May I help you?" A sleepy but polite Masako greets the phone.

"I need you to get up and get ready to come down to the SPR. Lin and I are going over to London as soon as we can. You, Bou san and Ayako are getting on a six AM flight Lin booked. If you need someone to come and pick you up call Bou san. If not be at the office no later than five thirty."

"Did you find something linking the case there?" She asks me less sleepy now.

"Yes. Bou san has the key to let you all in." I hang up without further explanations and walk into Lin's study.

"The flight is in less than an hour's time. I suggest we hurry." He shuts his laptop down and packs it up into the carry bag before shrugging on his coat. He hands me the details for their flight along with all the necessary paper work for them to be able to check in. I return to my study and set them on my table, using a paperweight to hold them down, I pick up the case file and head out to the front door lifting my coat off the coat stand before shutting the door shut behind me. Lin is already outside waiting for me.

The pre-dawn sky; darker than any other time reflected almost the same shade of black I saw in my dreams. Only a few stars were shining, reducing the oppressiveness of the pre-dawn sky. I pull on my coat and hurry down the stairs.

I pull the car door firmly shut before buckling the seat belts. As Lin drives to the airport on empty streets the same unexplained feeling of dread starts to chew on my stomach. _Will I be too late?_

_Will I be too late this time? I was an idiot to send her to London like that, I've got my opening but at the cost of her safety. Please God, let her be unharmed when I get there._ I beg silently to the twinkling stars above me.

* * *

A/N: How was that? Repetitive? Not really interesting? Despite my misgivings about this chapter I still hope you enjoyed it! Please leave a review too! Thousand thanks to everyone who has ever reviewed!! oh yes! and what date would be good for Kenji's birthday? any particular meaning to a specific date in July that could relate to Kenji and the story would be good 


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

* * *

The cold rain piter patters onto the window the moon casting strange shadows distorted by the rain across the floor of the room where Kenji and I were sleeping in. The soft even breathing from Kenji calms me down in a strange room as the piter pater of the rain intensifies against the windows. I pull the duvet tighter around the two of us and wrap my arm around Kenji. 

He is already fast a sleep but I'm still wide-awake. _I'm the one who needs the comfort. _My heart aches as my thoughts drift to Naru. _I know how much it hurts to lose those close and dear to you… I know you've always been strong Naru but I never thought you'd have ever gone through something this painful._ My heart hurts more for him and for once in a long time the familiar bitter aching is back. I curl up to Kenji's back and hide my face in his back. _I'm the one who needs the comforting. Not my child._ I think dejectedly, biting down on my lip to stop myself from crying. What I would do just to be near Naru again… I don't know but I know I'd be wiling to do it.

I close my eyes and will myself to sleep. Sleep finally arrives but it is erratic.

---

As the taxi drives up the familiar drive way a knot of anxiety starts to grow even bigger. I can feel the blackness around us and I'm sure Lin can too feel it pressing on all sides making the whole feel of the manor very constricted and claustrophobic.

I push the door open before the taxi completely stops bounding up the stairs two at a time. It's only about ten maybe a little past ten; some people should still be awake in the household. I hurriedly unlock the door and push the door in rushing into the living room to find someone - anyone. My eyes fall on a familiar figure reading a book. She moves the book down slightly and gapes at my arrival.

"NARU!" She nearly drops her book onto the floor in her haste to hug me.

"Mother, mother." I try to pry her off, hugs can be done later but I have something very important to do.

"Mother, where is Mai and Kenji?" She lets me go and holds me at an arms length.

"They're sleeping in your room at the moment." I run all the way up to my room, not caring if I woke them or not. I barge in noisily and my heart starts to calm down when I see their sleeping forms illuminated by the lights from the hallway. I watch them for while until I feel my mother tap me on the shoulder.

"They're fine Naru. See?" I shake my head, knowing what is to come.

"No, not now. There's something coming to get them right now." I go over to them and try to touch Mai but something is stopping me. I press down harder but it is as if a glass box had been set around her. The coldness and blackness that is emitted from around Mai and Kenji makes my hand retract automatically as if I was burned.

My heart pounds erratically.

"Mother. Get John san up. Lin should be downstairs. Get him up here. Now." My fear actually shows in my voice this time. _I'm too late._

"Naru…" My mother stops short of questioning me before doing as I asked her. I press my hands against the invisible barrier trying to find some kind of weakness in it I can try to breech.

_You're too late. Too late._ A mocking voice taunts me and it isn't me. I concentrate harder and the voice comes back. _You can't reach her anymore than you can reach her dreams. Her and her son._ It's going to kill her and Kenji through their dreams?! I think harder trying to find a flaw in that to suppress the overwhelming panic.

It keeps taunting me. Over and over and over. Until none of the words make sense and they are just a jumble of mocking insults. I pull my hands back and the voices stop. Mai gently turns in her sleep and her brow creases a little her hold on Kenji visibly tightening. It's starting… or it has already started… either way I need to break through to get them out of it.

---

Where am I? I was in bed just then… and now… I scan the emptiness seeing nothing around me. I can hear Kenji's terrified voice in my head, '_It's coming, I'm scared mum! I want to go home…'_ Where is he? Kenji! I call out noiselessly. My mouth opens but nothing comes out. Where's my son?! My hand closes in a fist and I can feel something solid and soft there, but when I look down there is nothing in my hand. I grip the emptiness and make out a hand. A small familiar hand.

He's still there! I can almost sigh with relief – at least I still know where my son is. I feel his hand tighten around mine and I can hear his voice again. _'Mum… it's coming!'_ What is coming Kenji? I can't see anything! I think frustrated.

_Mai, whatever you do – do NOT let go of Kenji's hand._ A different unfamiliar voice urges me. But I know it's someone or something that means no harm.

_You can't run any more._ A menacing voice leers in my head cutting off both Kenji's voice and the unfamiliar one. _No, no, no!_ I shut my eyes and concentrate on finding Kenji's voice again. Ignoring everything this new voice is saying.

---

"Lin, can you get your _Shiki_ to break the barrier?" I ask him watching Mai and Kenji closely, the lights in the room are on now and yet they still aren't waking up from the lights.

"I'll try, but I don't think it'll yield much results. The barrier is a lot stronger and thicker than what my _Shiki_ can produce."

"John san?" I ask directing my attention to the priest in deep thought.

"I may have a way to break it but I've never done it before and it's very risky." He says contemplating the idea still staring a hole in the floor.

"What are the risks?" I ask as detached as possible.

"I may either hurt or even kill those two if this fails. It's a highly risky idea and I'm against it but I've only suggested it since this looks desperate."

I look up into the dressing table mirror and notice something off with my reflection.

"Lin, do you see anything different about my reflection?" he gives me a puzzled look but answers me.

"No, not that I can tell." I turn my head to the left and to the right; my reflection copies my movements exactly but there's a millisecond delay. I reach forward and place my hand on the cool surface. All at once voices wash over me but there is one distinct one I have not heard for so many years. A voice that I will never forget.

_Gene._ I think with surprise.

_Been awhile hey – idiot scientist._

_How are you talking to me?_

_I'm not sure but I think we have to fulfil a few requirements to talk to each other. I was trying really hard to get your attention lucky you noticed me in the mirror! Mai and Kenji is here somewhere, the demon has locked them in their minds so no matter what you do they won't wake up. I needed to contact you urgently because I know of a way to break them out of this._

"Naru…?" Lin asks trying to get my attention. I tune him out and concentrate on just Gene.

_You know what it is?_

_I can see it bright as day._

_Do you know where it originated?_

_I'm not sure yet. But it doesn't seem to be noticing me, maybe it's because I'm dead. I'm pretty sure we can try doing what we did as kids to increase your PK; if we can talk I'm sure we can bounce off each other._

_Let's just try that._

I close my eyes and let my long forgotten instinct take over; I almost unconsciously start to bounce my PK into the mirror. For a moment I don't get any feed back but suddenly my powers bounces back to me almost ten fold.

_It works Naru! Bounce more to me!_

I close my eyes and focus on bouncing my powers into the mirror steadily increasing the flow by tapping into the increased power into the flow.

_Is that enough?_

_Keep bouncing Gene, we'll just keep this as constant as possible._

_I can use this to protect them for a while but I'm not sure if it'll hold. Just get them out before it breaks._

_Any time stalling tactics just use it, I'll keep some of my focus on you so I don't lose your connection._

_Don't let the mirror go Naru, or we won't be able to connect._

_Any mirror would do right?_

_Yes, but don't let go of this one until you've got your hands on another one._

"Lin, find me a pocket mirror."

"What on earth Naru?" John san asks me disbelievingly.

"It's not for what you think John san!" I snap angrily. "I've got a way to break Mai and Kenji out but I need a mirror." Lin returns with a hand held mirror and I hold onto the glassy surface, directing my PK into the new mirror while reducing the flow into the larger mirror.

_Will this do Gene?_

_Mm, yeah. It'll do._

_What do you plan to do exactly?_

_I'll set up a barrier up between Mai and Kenji and the demon, and then I'll see what I can do with the demon. You'll have to pay attention to me in case I need you to bounce back more._

_Take care of them Gene._

_You idiot – do you think I'll let any harm come to them? _He asks me good-naturedly. _Once I can figure out something I'll let you know, just look out for any openings you can take._

I let go of the large mirror and walk towards the bed, the barrier is now appearing to me as a light haze and I can see the basic out line of it.

"If any of you sense a weakening in the barrier do not hesitate to take it." I instruct both Lin and John san. I run my free hand over the barrier – it's still as cold and impenetrable as it was before.

---

A cold hand grips my throat and I gag clawing at the invisible hand. _Don't let go of Kenji!_ The voice urges me. I keep a tight hold on Kenji even as my vision is blurring.

_I'll take care of you first then I'll take my time with your little boy. _The sinister voice hisses into my ear making the fear in my stomach churn and spread like poison. A warm glow heats my back, spreading across my body.

_What?!_ Cold fury grips the voice but the chokehold on my neck is released. As I rub my neck and dragging in deep hard breaths I can feel the warmth spread down my arms, jumping onto Kenji. For the first time since I awoke to this nightmare I can see my son.

"Kenji!" I scoop him up and hug him tightly. _Oh my baby… I was so scared! Scared I'd lose you forever…_ He wraps his arms around my neck and as I pat his back soothingly he cries into my shoulder.

_This isn't a solution Mai; it's just to buy Naru some more time. Maybe he might be able to break you out but I've just set this barrier up for the time being, I don't know how long I'll be able to keep it up but this demon is something I've never come across before._

"How'd you know my name?" I ask out loud holding a frightened Kenji tightly.

_I'd been with you for a long time Mai, just be patient. Naru and I are trying to break you out of this._

I close my eyes and sink onto my hunches, sitting down while cradling Kenji tightly. I'm so scared! I bite on my lip to stop a whimper from coming out. I can't let Kenji know I'm terrified! I've never felt this terrified before, not even when I found out I was pregnant… I shut my eyes tightly willing myself to forget everything now except my baby…

---

_A rising wave of nausea forces me to run from the office into the toilets located just outside the office._

It's the third time this week. I wipe traces of vomit from the corner of my mouth and flush the toilet again. I rinse out my mouth and spit out the foul tasting vomit. _I must have caught some stomach bug or something… I should see the doctor soon…_

It's almost two weeks. Almost two weeks since – since that happened. He doesn't remember. I think bitterly. His total indifference to me on that morning told me all I needed to know. I kept away from him for most of the day whenever I could, I was so tempted to call in sick but I had to know. So now I know and I took five days off. I'm such a coward. I accidentally bump my breasts with my arms when I raised them to clean my face, and I wince. _Why the heck are they so sore? Urgh, and they feel like they're going to spill out of my bra…_ I don't remember doing anything physically taxing. I really should see that doctor…

"Mai?" Ayako calls out for me anxiously from outside the bathroom.

"Yes?" I call back wiping my hands dry on a paper towel.

"Are you feeling alright? You sure you don't want to take a sick day off? You've been going to the toilets an awful lot this week."

"No, I'll be fine!" I call back faking a cheerful demeanour.

"You sure? I'll take you down to the doctor's now if you want."

"No, Ayako, I'll be fine! I promise!" I open the toilet door and find her looking at me with a highly worried expression on her face. "I'll go down to see the doctor after work if you're so worried." Her expression lifts for a moment in temporary relief.

At six I pack up my things and start to leave.

"Where're you going?" Naru asks me as he walks back from Lin's office.

"Just going to the doctor's. I only have another hour anyway, you can dock my pay – I don't care. I need to see that doctor before they all close."

"Just make sure all your work is done by tomorrow." That's it. No – are you feeling all right Mai? Or even the _slightest _concern for me. I pull on my scarf and huff out of the office slamming the door shut with force.

I walk down the street till I got to the main centre of the Shibuya district; I've never been to see any doctors in this area but there must be a GP somewhere here… I find a pharmacy and ask for directions to the closest GP and the counter lady directs me to a nearby GP.

At this time the clinic is almost empty,

"Is there a doctor available at the moment?" I ask the nurse sitting at the reception. She flicks through a few files and nods her head.

"Would you like to see her now?"

"Yes please, it won't take long." The nurse nods her head and gestures for me to take a seat while she informs the doctor. I take a seat and observe the near empty clinic. There are several children's toys strewn all over the kid's corner and a mother is sitting there watching over her children looking very worn. She catches my eyes and gives me a smile.

The nurse returns quickly beckoning me to follow her, I stand up and walk over to the nurse, letting myself be lead by her down a few corridors before directing me into a doctor's office. A youngish female doctor perhaps about ten years older than I am was in there reading through some files.

"Hello, you must be Taniyama Mai? How are you feeling?" She pulls out a chair for me and gestures for me to sit. The nurse closes the door behind her leaving us in privacy.

"I think I caught a stomach bug or maybe a winter cold. I've been feeling nauseous lately and my stomach cramps pretty often." She writes down some notes on her note pad before asking me,

"Are you feeling any other symptoms?"

"Just recently my breast has also been getting really sore, and it feels quite tight." She writes some more on her note pad before turning to me.

"Do you mind if I take a look?" I shake my head and pull off the thick layers of clothes I wear to keep warm. She gently presses down on the top of my breast and I let out a small wince.

"It feels pretty tender," She gestures to me that I can put my clothes back on.

"If you don't mind answering me, this is a really personal question but when was the last time you had sex?" She asks me in full seriousness looking at me with concern. I blink a few times before the question could sink in.

"S-sex?"

"If its too personal, don't feel the need to answer me but…"

"N-no… umm about two weeks ago…"

"What forms of contraception did you use?" Contraception? I feel the whole world spinning, and I have to close my eyes to stop myself from falling over. I burry my head in my hands.

"We… we didn't…" oh my god. How could I have forgotten? _You never had sex before – why should that thought cross your mind?_ But in school… how many times did our health teachers tell us about contraception? _Countless._ I pull in shaky breaths trying to calm myself down.

"Taniyama san?" The doctor asks me rubbing my back comfortingly.

"I – I… what am I going to do?" I ask her, my fear showing in my eyes and voice.

"I'll do a blood test to confirm it but there are plenty of support groups out there. And there are other options as well – if you really can't have the baby." _Abortion?_ I think repulsively.

"I can't – I won't abort." I amend myself.

"I understand," she says sympathetically, "But if you need some help feel free to come to these sessions." She hands me a few pamphlets about mother's groups and support net works for teen mothers.

"It's all up to you now Taniyama san. I'll do the blood test and the results should be in by tomorrow, come by tomorrow to pick them up – or whenever it's convenient for you." She takes out a syringe and I pull up my sleeves to let her get a blood sample. She ties a piece of rubber across the top of my arm to stop the blood flow for a moment as she drew out blood; I look away as she drew my blood. I could never stand needles. I flinch at the sharp prick but after that I don't feel anything until she presses a piece of cotton wool on my arm to stop the blood.

It was so obvious now that I think about it. I wonder why the thought of me being pregnant didn't cross my mind. I suppose the human mind blocks out what it doesn't want to listen to.

"If you want to talk to me about anything else don't hesitate to come by again." I give her a weak smile.

"Thank you doctor…" I pick up my bag and walk out of her office with her bringing me to the reception.

"Take care Taniyama san, don't do anything too strenuous and if you have any thing you want to check with me. Come and see me again." She is so kind, I think emotionally. What am I going to do now? Tell Naru? Tell him _what?_

'Naru, I think I'm pregnant with your child.' That sounds so ridiculous to even myself. I walk out of the clinic into the cold evening air. Everyone is going on as it always had, it's just me. I walk home numb. Not feeling, hearing or thinking anything. I just want to get home.

I shut the door behind me; I lean heavily on the door and slide to the floor. In a state of shock. I curl up and cry into my knees, the fear and panic is catching up with me and I can do only so little to stop it. _I want to be comforted. I need to be comforted. But I have no one._ I cry even harder, cries that – to even myself sound heart wrenching.

---

_Why am I remembering this now?_ What point is it in remembering that? For a moment I don't recognise my own crying but in a short while I do. And my son is comforting me. _I want to be comforted._

"I love you Kenji. I love you more than life its self."

_Mai! Can you feel my hand?_ I hear Naru's voice but it's muffled as if I was under water. I feel something grip my left hand tightly but there's nothing there. It has to be him.

"Yes!"

_Don't let go of Kenji or me. Gene will try to break the demon's hold on you and I'll pull you out._

"Ok." I close my eyes and keep a tight hold on both Kenji and Naru's hand. Unexpectedly everything goes so quiet I feel as if I had gone deaf. Everything around me is suspended. And after what seemed like a long time I jerk up in bed, sweating profusely a scream coming out of me without me even realising it.

"It's OK Mai! Shhh…" Naru cups my face tightly to calm me down. When I stop screaming the water works turn on automatically. And I'm not the only one. Kenji is crying loudly next to me. I keep crying but I hold Kenji in a hug and cry along with him.

Naru holds us both tightly, rubbing our backs comfortingly.

"Naru… I – I was so scared!" I keep crying and crying, hiccups interrupting me every so often.

"Don't go." I whisper, my breathing hitches with another hiccup. I try to stop crying but no matter what I do the tears wouldn't stop coming out. "Don't go." I repeat again to reassure myself.

"I won't. I won't Mai. I'll be here, I promise." He kisses both Kenji and I to comfort us.

_I want to be comforted._

My thoughts and feelings echo back at me.

* * *

A/N: Yay, for a new chapter! I finished writing this on a study break :D I'm so happy I managed to do this up! Hope you enjoyed this! To all who don't know yet, I've written a one-shot about chapter 7 called 'Not meant to happen' please note that – it's a LEMON fic. So if you are under aged or do not like reading lemons don't read it. Only **MATURE READERS**. It contains explicit material and I don't recommend anyone under 16 or even 18 to read it. My first lemon fic too, and since we have -none- in the GH fandom I've decided to write one myself. 


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

* * *

I don't dare fall back a sleep. I stifle a yawn and lean back into Naru, smoothing Kenji's hair away from his face.

"Go sleep Mai." He mummers softly holding back my hair.

"I'm too scared…" It's nearly five AM and the dark skies are turning a lighter shade of blue.

"I'll be right here Mai. Kenji is already asleep."

"But what if…" He tightens his hold on me and pulls me reassuringly closer to him.

"Nothing will happen, I'll be right here Mai. Have some rest, or you'll be too worn out."

"Do you want to know something…?" I mummer, my eyes getting heavier and heavier.

"What?"

"When I found out about Kenji, I never thought I'd ever come across something as frightening as that. But now I know I'm wrong. The fear… of losing your child… is so much worse…" I falter and slump back against Naru, everything going pitch black.

---

"_The fear… of losing your child… is so much worse…"_ Mai's words ring in my head. I had so much more to fear, I had you and Kenji to lose. She feels limp in my arms; she must have finally dropped off to sleep. I gently let her down to rest on my lap so she doesn't wake up with a nasty crick in her neck.

I brush her hair back from her forehead and pull the blanket over her tucking the blanket more securely around Kenji at the same time. I lean back on the headboard on the bed closing my eyes. A soft knocking comes from the door and it slowly swings open.

"Have they come yet?" I ask Lin who had come in, referring to the rest of the group.

"They're waiting in the living room with your mother." He replies quietly watching Mai and Kenji. "They finally fell a sleep?" I nod my head in exhaustion.

"Mai just dropped off to sleep, Kenji fell a sleep at about 3…" I let out a sigh, "both of them were too terrified to sleep, until they couldn't keep awake any longer."

"Did you notice anything different after we pulled them out?" Lin asks me.

"Mm. The blackness just dissipated."

"Do you want to sleep? I could look after them for you." Lin offers me; I shake my head declining his offer.

"I'll be fine. Get my mother to set everyone up in rooms. We won't be meeting today. Everyone needs rest." Lin nods his head and leaves without another word. I close my eyes lethargically. Everything is taking its toll on me now.

---

"_Hello, Naru? I'm not coming into work today. I feel sick."_

"You might have thought to call me – oh I don't know perhaps three hours ago?" I ask her icily over the phone.

"I really am sick Naru. I just got out of bed." She answers me feebly.

"Did you see that doctor?" I ask her a little more severely than I had intended.

"Yeah, she said I just needed rest." I know she's lying. He voice always cracks when she's lying.

"What did she really say Mai? I know you're lying."

"She really just said I needed rest!" She protests a little too loudly.

"How long?" I ask her ignoring her out burst.

"Maybe a week? Or longer…" She trails off trying to get me to agree to letting her stay off work for more than a week.

"You better be back at work in a seven days from today."

"Thank you Naru…" It's almost like what she'd normally say but there's something different this time. Something that doesn't sit right with me, but she won't tell me, so what's the point in pushing her further? I'll get my explanation soon enough.

"Good bye then… I'll… bye Naru." She hangs up the phone before I could say anything else. I hang up the phone long after she has.

I'm itching to just go over to her place to find out what she's hiding from me but it's not rational! There is just no reason why I should go to her house to find out what is wrong with her. I shut my eyes and let my mind drift and wander for a moment to relax.

_Peach… I can smell a soft scent of peaches…_

I snap my eyes open. Where did that come from? _Peaches…_ That's Mai's scent, why am I remembering it now? Something is nagging me at the back of my head but I can't pull it out of the deep recesses of my mind. _Stuff that, I've got more important things to think about. _I push that thought roughly out of my mind, turning all my attention to a stack of papers.

_Soft and warm…_ My eyes open to the darkness of my bedroom. I keep getting recurring flashes of dreams and I keep waking up instantly. I groan and roll over to check the alarm clock. 3 AM. Great.

_Soft, silky skin… so warm and gentle…_ What's happening? Something isn't right. I frown and throw off the blankets shivering at the cool air. I walk down into the kitchen to get a drink of water and I notice for the first time that the Panadol is put out of place. Normally I'd leave it on top of the fridge but it's balanced on the edge of the fridge. As if someone short had tried to put it back without getting up on a chair. I frown and push the Panadol back before it tips over and drops.

I pour myself a cup of water, leaning on the counter thinking about all those dreams. I have a vague impression that it's someone I know but I just can't put the face to the dreams. I sigh and shake my head. There's no point thinking so much about it if I can't do anything about it. I rinse the cup and set it aside to dry, heading back up to sleep.

This time I fall into a dreamless sleep.

At six I wake up automatically. No alarms or bells. I just wake up at six on the dot. The moment I got up I know something bad has happened. I quickly change and wash up without bothering with breakfast.

_SPR_ is as usual empty with no one there, not even Lin has arrived this early but even as everything seems to be as per usual something big has changed and I know I won't like it. I unlock the door to the office and the unusual stillness has me on an edge. Everything is as it should be, I open my office door and I see a letter held down with my paperweight left right in the middle of my desk.

_Mai._

Her keys to the office lay next to the paperweight. Moving like in a dream I pick up the unsealed envelope and pull out the letter. A soft scent of peaches comes out with the letter.

_Naru,_

_For unforeseeable circumstances I cannot work at SPR any longer. I have turned in my keys and I hope you do not try to find me; I have my reasons for leaving and I hope you'll let me leave it as that. I have nothing against working with you or other members of SPR, and I am truly sorry that I have to leave. I would love to have stayed on for longer but it would be in everyone's best interests if I left._

_Take care, Mai._

Left… Mai… I re-read the letter again and again but nothing is sinking in. I am still reading the letter when Lin comes in for the morning.

"Naru,"

"I'm going to see Mai." I say coldly. I'm going to get to the bottom of this. I thrust the letter into his hands; walk past him and out of the office.

---

I feel some movement around me; slowly I open my eyes still tired but better than before. When my eyes focus I see Mai trying to get out of bed without waking either Kenji or I. She doesn't notice that I've woken so I stay as still as possible until her body leans nearer towards me. I quickly reach out and pull her back.

She lets out a loud gasp of surprise, stifling only half of it. I cover her mouth with my hand to stop her from waking Kenji; she pries off my hand and hisses at me,

"What did you think you were doing?"

"Are you sure you've got enough rest?" I ask her quietly.

"Yes, I'm sure. You haven't answered me."

"Stopping you from leaving me like you did that morning."

"What morning?" She asks me confused as hell and just as adorable. I pull her closer and inhale in the sweet scent of peaches I'll never forget and whisper in her ear,

"The morning I woke up with an angel in my bed." I feel her stiffen before relaxing into me.

"I thought you didn't remember anything…"

"I do. Do you want to hear something?" I feel her nod her head slightly.

"I dreamt of the time when you called in sick. Just before you left. The last time I heard your voice. I remember I didn't believe your letter. I went all the way to your apartment but you were already gone. I bet you were long gone before you sent me the letter. I remember how much I didn't want to believe it but there was no other way."

"I'm sorry." She tells me, her legs curling up under her so she can sit more comfortably.

"I didn't listen to you though. I looked for you. I tried so hard, but there was nothing. No one knew where you went. And I don't know how I went back to normalcy – just one day I found myself working on a case rather than working to find you. But I know I had always been looking. I seem to spend a great deal of my life looking for people I've loved and lost." I say thinking about how much time I've devoted to looking for Gene's body, then all the time I spent looking for Mai.

"Your brother…" She starts hesitantly.

"Gene?"

"Mm… I… he's helped me on cases before. Long ago, when I first started to work at SPR…" I tighten my arms around her and burry my face in the hollow between her shoulder blades and neck.

"He should have moved on…"

"But if he didn't, I wouldn't be here now. He's saved me so many times, not just this once. In our cases where I've found myself trapped or in a dangerous situation he has always helped me through them."

"I suppose so… that I have to be thankful to him. He's saved the first person I've ever loved as much as I had for him." Her breath hitches. I realise what I said, but it is the truth in its entirety. She burries her face in my shoulder and curls up against me.

"I love you Mai. I love you and Kenji. I never thought I'd never love anyone this much or this fierce but I do."

"I love you too Naru. I've always had and always will."

"How did you get us out?" She asks quietly.

"You'll have to thank Gene for that. I just did what he told me to. He blocked off the demon and suppressed it for a little while, when it was suppressed the barrier weakened and I could pull you can Kenji out."

"Is it… still…" She trails off not willing to finish her query.

"It's still alive but I have a fair idea where it originated from." I tighten my arms around Mai and give her a reassuring hug. "I'll have to brief everyone on it first, you're welcome to sit in but I am forbidding you to come with us."

---

"Jack the Ripper?!" Ayako asks expressing her surprise. It's the next morning and I've gathered everyone in the living room to tell them what Gene and I came up with.

"Someone who emulated him. Not the actual 'Jack the Ripper'." I correct her, flipping through the case file to find what I needed to show them.

"But it doesn't explain all the paranormal happenings." Bou san argues.

"The person is no longer human." I find the photographs I needed and passed them to Bou san.

"Do you notice anything different in each photo?" I ask him, leaning against the bar counter in the living room.

"Apart from the fact that the victims are different?" I nod my head. "Nope. Nothing at all." I retrieve the photographs from him.

"The first one was done by a living human. The second by paranormal activity. The first one had been documented where the corner report said that knives and other sharp objects made the cuts. In the second corner report – even though it was very similar to the first murder failed to find any evidence that a murder weapon was used. The corner could not find anything conclusive. From the first photograph you can also see the blood splatters across the walls and floors, in the second photograph the blood is only spread across a very selective area. Mainly around the body, there is no evidence of any struggle taking place between the victim and the murderer."

"I still don't understand…" John san says with a puzzled look on his face, studying the photographs.

"Between this photograph and the second one, I can be safe to say that something happened to the person and somehow they managed to continue the killings even while not alive – however, the person is not dead either. It is in a state of being dead in the human sense but alive in the paranormal sense."

"But how would that happen?" John san asks, his forehead contracting into masses of lines.

"Sometimes spirits don't want to move on or they are just filled with too much sin that they simply cannot move on. When this happens, they are usually anchored; for lack of better word, to Earth. Unless they are resolved of their sins or they find some closure through a medium they will never move on. When they don't move on after sometime they become demons. I believe that these killings are necessary for the this demon to keep 'alive'." Masako san explains, filling in all the gaps that had everyone confused over.

"You've figured it out." I acknowledge her, in response she merely nods her head.

"But there are some specific requirements for its victims. For one, the victim must have substantial amounts of power, it doesn't seem to be killing for the fun of it, the pattern is more like being able to sustain on the energy and power of the victim it killed. The recent killing was of a middle aged man who was well known for being able to heal people, but his powers compared to the one that happened fifty years go in Japan was not very much. Hence why it's on a killing spree now. it's looking for another source of power to feed off."

"How do we kill something like that?" Ayako complains taking a bite out of her toast.

"We either; get it's sins resolved or exorcise it." I give them the two options but I know one option wouldn't be viable. I watch Masako as she shakes her head sadly.

"I cannot resolve so many sins. Its just not doable, no medium no matter how good cannot resolve it's sins."

"Looks like it's going to have to be exorcised." Bou san grins, rubbing his hands together, "I have a score to settle with that thing over Mai."

"Wait." I say blandly, everyone stops and looks expectantly at me.

"We can't exorcise it. It's not a spirit, it's a demon. A monster." A silence fills the room.

"What can we do then?" Ayako asks, a little unsure now.

"We just deprive it of its energy sources. It will die eventually with no energy."

"And how exactly do we do that?" Bou san challenges me. I look up into his eyes and say unflinchingly.

"We seal it up."

"And _how_ do we do that?" Bou san asks me, staring back at me.

"Lin. We'll have to use that favour owed." I don't stop looking at Bou san as I issue instructions to Lin. "Anyone wishing to doubt me – you're most welcome to your opinions but I'll do things _My Way._" I break the stare and leave the living room.

Upstairs I gently open the door to my room where Mai and Kenji are resting and I find them being served breakfast by a maid. I push the door open and all three of them look up, the maid bows to me in greeting and quickly leaves the room after she finishes serving their breakfast. I close the door after she leaves and walk towards the bed.

"How are you two feeling?"

"Much better." Mai admits while passing Kenji a cup of water. I sit on her side of the bed and push some of her hair back. For a while neither of us says anything; Mai too busy feeding her son and me just caught in my own thoughts of her and Kenji.

"How is the case going?" She asks, not looking at me still feeding Kenji.

"It's going somewhere. But it shouldn't concern you, you should rest."

"I _am_ entitled to know Naru. Tell me, how is the case going?" She's not eating anything.

"You're not hungry?" I ask her, ignoring her question.

"How is the case going Naru." She ignores my obvious attempt to push the conversation away from the case.

"I'll have to see an acquaintance of mine. There's something she has that I need." She'll have to be happy with that; I'm not going to tell her anything else. She takes a bite out of her sandwich, washing it down with a mouthful of water.

"You're not going to say anything else are you?" She asks me before taking another bite out of her sandwich. I don't answer her.

"Why is it that, every time I get you to open up a little bit you snap close like a clam shell almost instantly?" I feel startled.

"What do you mean Mai?"

"Forget it Naru." She shakes her head and continues eating, occasionally turning to Kenji to make sure he's eating. Time passes in silence accompanied only by the clanking and clicking of the utensils against the plates. Finishing the last of her breakfast, Mai announces to me,

"I'm going to take Kenji out for a little bit later, he's getting very restless here and I think some fresh air will do us good." I want to tell her no but I know that she has a point.

"Be back before night fall, and don't go outside the manor grounds. If you think I'm being unreasonable it's because Lin, Bou san and Ayako have set up barriers around the perimeters of the manor grounds. If you are outside of them they won't be able to protect you or Kenji." Still looking down at her empty plate she nods her head. I pick up her hand and hold on to it tightly, drawing her attention to me.

"I'm sorry Mai." She gives me an empty smile.

"If everyone felt sorry about every single thing that went wrong they'd never see the good that came out of the mistake." She turns to Kenji and asks him quietly, "Are you done?"

"Yep." Comes his cheerful reply, Mai lifts the tray up and sets it on the bedside table before pushing the bed sheets down. She slowly climbs out of bed and picks Kenji up bringing him into the bathroom that conjoined my room.

"Go get washed up, we'll go out for a little bit today. It's a nice day out isn't it Kenji?" He nods his head dutifully and retrieves his clothes from his mother before shutting the bathroom door behind him. Water running can be heard not a moment later.

"Are you sure he's OK on his own?" I ask her, concerned about Kenji.

"Yes, he's showered on his own before. But I always stay near just in case he needs me. I make sure he never locks the door either." She sinks into a lazy chair near the bathroom and looks at me tiredly.

"Naru, I feel so much older than I really am. Sometimes I wonder what people my age are doing; maybe they're in universities, or maybe they're working full time like I am, or perhaps they're doing something like an apprenticeship. But I'm sure most of them are doing something they have been planning to do for a very long time. Then I think about myself. I love Kenji and I love taking care of him but I just wonder sometimes what my life would be like without him. Don't you ever wonder about that too Naru? About how your life would be different if something you didn't expect to happen _didn't_ happen?"

_I do. I wonder what my life would be like if I had never met you. How different my life would be if I never took that case in your school._

"I do Mai. Everyone would have at one point wondered what would have happened if they took a different path at a cross road." She sighs and pushes herself up from the lazy chair.

"I'm going to get changed. If Kenji calls for me let me know." I watch her walk into the walk-in wardrobe, shutting the door behind her.

---

The air is cool and crisp, the last of winter slowly fading into spring.

"Look there's so many flowers Kenji." I say gently pointing the gardens out to him.

"Let's go this way mum!" He tugs on my arm, pulling me to a pathway amidst the flowerbeds.

"All right, but not too far OK? We can't stay out too long honey." He nods his head and leads me down the path. The flowers were just blooming and I can see many small buds of flowers appearing among the greenery. The path winds and twists in between the flowers, giving an impression of being lost in a forest of flowers. Somewhere along the way we come across a patio, I'm guessing we've walked all the way around the house.

"Do you want to go back in Kenji?" I ask him looking at the patio door; he shakes his head and pulls me away from the open patio. Just round the bend though there was a large glass window looking into one of the many rooms of the manor. My eyes glance up into the room and I see Naru and everyone else around him, listening intently. On an impulse I bend down and pick Kenji up so that he can see into the room from afar.

"Kenji do you want to know who your dad is?" He tilts his head to the side and gives me an inquisitive look.

"Who?" I point into the room – pointing at Naru.

"Do you see that man there?" I turn to him to see him nod his head, "The one wearing a black shirt?" He nods his head again, "That's your dad." I have to tell him anyway, I might as well do it now…

"He's my dad?" Kenji asks again slightly confused.

"Mmm…" I look up into the room and Naru is looking out at us. I give him a faint smile and turn back to Kenji, "Let's go back now OK? We'll come out again later."

"OK… but promise me we'll come here again." He asks me pouting in an adorably cute way. I pinch his nose lightly,

"I promise, but we'll have to go back in now." I set Kenji down and pick up his hand leading us out of the forest of flowers.

* * *

A/N: hi all! It's been a little while since I updated but… I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I made a little allusion to xxxHolic; did anyone catch that? ;) I think I might do a little xxxHolic cross over . I'm really pleased at the plot development now!! The case is _almost_ at its end!! Lol I think I can hear collective sighs of relief everywhere XD if it's OOC please forgive me! This was a hard chapter in terms of getting them in character for me to write… anyways, hope you've enjoyed this chapter!! 


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

A/N: xxxHolic cross over in this chapter… I'm sorry for not updating any earlier but I've got a serious case of writer's block, so thanks to anyone who is still interested in this story… hugs and cookies to all who has ever supported me! I'll do my best!

* * *

"Yuko san, you look like you're doing well." I greet the owner of a mystic shop, who is currently reclined on a chair. 

"Ahh, Shibuya san what brings you here today?" She asks sweetly, taking a sip out of her sake bottle.

"I have a favour you need to re-pay." I answer, ignoring her delaying tactics.

"Oh, that." She sets the bottle down with a soft clink. "I see you're here alone?"

"Only I could enter."

"I see…" She sits up in her chair, observing me with cold unflinching eyes.

"And what might be your request?" She asks slyly.

"You know what my request will be."

"A good point, but it's better to confirm what needs to be done than to botch it up due to a break down in communication."

"I need the seal Yuko san. After this your favour owed to me is nullified."

"The nasty thing I'd granted a wish to is now your problem?" She asks me raising a fine eyebrow. She sighs, "And I thought something good would have come out of the agreement, seems like I'm losing my touch with character judgment."

"The seal Yuko san."

"Let me ask you – if I were to clean up this mess, what are you willing to pay?" I stare back at her. I know what she wants to do and I'm not falling for it.

"Nothing. All I've asked for is the seal Yuko san. Nothing more nothing less." She sighs dejectedly and sinks back into her chair.

"Marudashi, Morodashi bring me the seal in the store room." Turning back to me she says subtly, "Negotiation always went better with people like my dear Watanuki." She smiles a sly smile and reaches out to pick up the item brought in by her helpers. She unwraps it and re-wraps it after checking its contents.

"Be sure to return it to me when you're done with it." She hands me the seal and instantly turns her personality one hundred and eighty degrees around.

"Now! Time for more sake! Watanuki!" I bow to her.

"Good day to you Yuko san."

"Won't you join us for some food?" She asks me.

"I have something important to do, I'm afraid I'll pass this time." She swigs the rest of her sake down.

"Oh well, your loss! Marudashi, Morodashi please see Shibuya san out."

"Hai!!" The blue and pinked haired twins escort me to the door, not able to go any further.

"Have a good day!" They chorus together. I push the door open and walk out, shutting it behind me softly. I can see Lin waiting patiently outside the grounds until I walk out onto the street.

"I've got the seal, lets do this as soon as we can." I pull open the passenger seat door and slide in shutting it with a loud slam. Lin follows shortly starting up the van.

"We'll start the sealing process tonight. Get everyone to prepare for tonight." I stare out the windows not absorbing in anything, "We'll end this tonight." I murmur resolutely.

---

Out in the open, the cold air whips and swirls around us, never settling. Lin is in his final stages of preparation and Bou san is on edge, the weather not doing anything for his tense nerves. Ayako is surprisingly calm as she stands still in her ceremonial gown, Masako is as usual. But tonight there is an edgy atmosphere surrounding us. Should this fail we won't be able to do anything about the demon and the other repercussions – even I don't know what will happen… Everyone knows the very high possibility of our failure but there isn't much of any choice. Lin breaks me out of my reprieve with a slight nod of his head.

"We're starting, be where you need to be and stay prepared." I step back and observe everyone and as I had instructed them they moved to their respective places.

---

It is strange; how at some points in time one can overreact at small things and under react over issues of importance. It is perhaps a measure of how serious something is. It is under the pale moonlight of this icy-cold night that this is observed.

The cold air picks up it's frantic swirling, cutting into the exposed skin of anyone out on such a night. To the gathered group of five this was just the herald of the beginning – the be all or end all.

A sharp piercing wail slices through the wind's constant howling, changing into a menacing laugh. The concentration of all five people never changed; all five concentrating on their task. The tallest – a man with black hair long enough to cover a side of his face stood roughly in the middle, a small object on the table before; him no bigger than his palm was glowing a faint shade of purple. A quick flow of incantations leaves his lips but not a sound reaches the ears of his partners. Human ears need not hear that incantation – it will only reach those from an unearthly realm.

The screaming of the wind is joined by a more aggressive howl, almost as if the wind were hissing words spill out from the wailing of the wind _'you'll… never get me… you are a hundred years too young to even try.'_

The object on the table glows a darker hue of purple and a continuous streams of incantations leaves the man's lips but not a sound is uttered.

A bright flash explodes in front of the man, as the red headed female positioned just behind him expels a malicious force from distracting the man. He doesn't even blink an eye. Several other successive flashes follow the first flash of light as each person surrounding the man keep dispelling the malicious forces directed at him.

"Is it almost done Lin?" The youngest of the group asks him. He was standing outside of the circle of people away from any threat of danger. Straining his voice he answers,

"Almost." Continuing the seal he mouths soundless words. A brilliant shade of purple expands quickly from the centre of the seal engulfing everyone in the circle before receding just as quickly. The winds stills and the whole world is silent - so silent it becomes deafening.

Lin calmly re-wraps the seal and everything comes back to life. The winds continue blowing as if nothing happened and the faint sounds of insect and animal life can he heard.

Lin hands the small package to the youngest of the group,

"Pass it onto Yuko san and give her my regards." He packs up the table quickly and efficiently, not one movement was wasted.

"Good job everyone. This should be over now." He grips the small package tightly in his hands. "I'm going to Yuko san's place now." He doesn't wait for any kind of acknowledgment but heads off the moment he says that.

"Naru – " Lin begins but he is already gone.

---

I knock impatiently on the door and this time Yuko san opens the door herself.

"Why, what brings you here at this time Shibuya san?" She asks silkily, opening the door wider to invite me in.

"Take it. It's sealed." I thrust my hand out and drop the offending object that felt heavy in my palm in her outstretched ones. She unwraps the object and inspects it.

"It's been sealed well." She states pointing out the obvious. Lin is a very through person.

"Lin sends his regards." With that I turn my heel and walk out onto the street.

* * *

A/N: I hate this chapter. This was hell to write… still I hope you enjoyed it… to some level of enjoyment… (sigh) anyways, yeah I know this is short for I think it'll be better to keep the tension constant in the one chapter and have the anti-climax in the next one. Thankyou to everyone who has reviewed/read or just supported me in any way, thank you everyone! You guys are the reason why I decided to do this up! i'll do my best in the next one! 


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

* * *

The wind tousles my hair around as I make my way quickly back to the car that I had haphazardly parked in my rush to be rid of that seal.

As I smoothly accelerate down the main road I realise how much danger I've been putting people around me in. Even before, years ago in SPR I'd lead everyone into a seriously dangerous situation but I've never thought much of anything about it. _Mai._ My God. I stop at a red light and rest my head on the steering wheel. Every case we had been on she was always the one in the _most_ danger, it didn't matter what I gave her to do she'd always find a way to get in danger. Or rather danger always found a way to get her.

A loud blare from a horn shakes me up from my thoughts. It's green. I shake my head as I accelerate past the lights. The nightlife of London flies past me, lights and grand buildings past me. They hold no interest to me; the one who has my interest is at the end of this drive.

I can see the manor lights on from the gates. Everyone seems to have come back; my hunch is confirmed as I see the van parked in the front drive. I park next to the van, and as I get out the air feels cleaner, lighter some how.

I push the door open and I can hear some quiet chatter in the general direction of the living room. A light pitter-patter of feet against the cold marble floor drags my attention to the hallway. Kenji is running headlong towards me; I barely have enough time to gain my bearings when I am forced to pick Kenji up before he crashes into me.

"What's the rush?" I ask him slightly bemused.

"Everyone is back now!" He announces loudly. I heave him up so he doesn't slip before turning around to shut the door. Mai appears from the living room giving me a relieved smile. She comes next to me to take Kenji off my hands and for some reason I don't really feel like giving him back.

"Thank God you're alright." She says softly to me.

"What's happening?" I ask her giving her a soft smile. It feels good to have someone – correction – to have _her_ worry about me.

"Come on. Your mother and father want to talk to everyone." With her free hand she slips it into mine and pulls me toward the living room. Everyone has been assembled; mother and father are sitting on the couch facing everyone.

"Naru, you've come back at last." I nod my head to my mother. Mai never lets my hand go.

"We are aware that you have successfully sealed the demon – however, I wouldn't be too complacent." I tense at my father's words.

"Has something happened?" I ask, straining myself to keep my emotions in check.

"No, no nothing happened. We just don't want anything like this to happen again."

"Think carefully Oliver. Should something like this happen again don't be too confident that you would be able to defeat it." This is serious. My father just used my first name in front of everyone.

"What is it?" I ask, my whole body tense.

"Will you continue doing this even knowing that you could harm those you love very much? Or will you stop this to eradicate the chance of them coming to harm because of what you do?" He's issuing me an ultimatum is he? True, I've often thought of stopping what I do but I know that I can't. Not really. I give him my answer.

"I won't stop. Even if I do stop, I can't stop dangers that might harm them. Dangers are everywhere, not just the ones I deal with. Is this all you have to say?" I ask disgustedly, "Just to issue me an ultimatum?" My father cracks a big grin.

"Good choice my boy. Now onto the _real_ issue." I give Mai a confused look; she leans in closer to me and whispers,

"I'll explain that to you but your mother wants to talk to us now."

"You all are of course welcome to stay a while longer but if you wish to return to Japan I understand. This has been hard on everyone, you've all worked very hard and to tell you the truth – we – Martin and I been trying to seal this demon for quite a while now. After the major kill it was inactive for a very long time until it showed up in Japan. Thankyou everyone for doing what we couldn't and saving all those lives it would have other wise eaten."

Everyone was stunned – even I was. It has been like this for so long?

"Lighten up everyone! It's been done and it's over with. Now I think Mai and Naru has some explanations they owe everyone…" Explanation? I look at her,

"About us… Kenji." She murmurs. Everyone looks expectantly at us before Mai starts.

"As you all may or may not know Kenji is my son and Naru is also his father – I owe everyone an explanation and an apology over my disappearance these last seven years. I left then because I couldn't find another solution that I believed would work out for everyone – so I decided to run away." She pauses and takes in a deep breath, "I can see now that it was probably the stupidest most infantile approach but honestly at that time I just didn't want to hurt anyone. Least of all Naru. So I took it on myself to bear all the pain and guilt. I know those actions were selfish and probably made everyone worry to some extent, I'm so sorry and I apologise for that. But these seven years has helped me realise that I have a loving family and if you'll have me back," Tears collect in her eyes as she pauses to compose herself. She continues, her voice cracking a little, "I will ask nothing more than that." She covers her face with her hands and press hard against her eyes to stop the tears from leaking out. I pull her into a tight hug.

"Of course we'll have you back, we have always have had a place for you even in those years you weren't there." Ayako says gently, soothing her back by rubbing up and down. I can feel little arms wrapping around my waist, I look down and Kenji is hugging both Mai and I. I smile and pick him up, hugging him between Mai and I. She wipes away her tears and hugs us back.

_We'll be OK. We're together now, we'll be fine._

I kiss the top of Kenji's head, nuzzling the side of Mai's face.

"We'll be fine Mai. We're together now." I whisper into her ear. She looks up, her eyes still wet. Her big brown eyes giving me the most unguarded and vulnerable look I have ever seen her with.

"We'll be fine…" I whisper once more, more for my sake than hers. She ducks her head down next to Kenji's and hugs us tightly.

"I love you." I nearly miss it but I hear it, "I love the both of you."

"I love you too." It doesn't matter that everyone is here, because I finally have the courage to say what I feel.

* * *

End.

* * *

A/N: banzai!!! I'm finished! What a long story this is… I will be doing an epilogue of sorts… (Meaning: fluff bunnies will have free reign) I feel some how that this could have been improved and done better… near the end I was having really bad writer's blocks :/ so the story wouldn't have flowed as well. If you have any suggestions please send them to me! Eahh my case was really bad -.-" so forgive me on that count… I'm not good with writing suspense and mystery . 

Special thanks to **miss koneko **for constantly encouraging me! A big thanks to everyone who read/subscribed/faved/reviewed – I finished this for you guys!! Thanks to **charcol** for giving me such a wonderful review :D still makes me feel all warm and fuzzy when I read it! So thank you everyone!


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